Senators learn new allegations about Hegseth in affidavit by former sister-in-law
Washington — The former sister-in-law of Pete Hegseth, President Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, told senators in a sworn deposition that for years he made his second wife fear for her safety and drank heavily.
In an affidavit to a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee obtained by CBS News, Danielle Hegseth said she was married to Pete Hegseth’s brother from 2011 to 2019 . Nomination process. She wrote that her statement was in response to a letter from Sen. Jack Reed, the committee’s Democratic leader.
NBC News first reported on file. Hegseth’s attorney, Tim Parlatore, has denied the accusations, calling Danielle Hegseth an “anti-Trump far-left Democrat.”
She wrote in the affidavit that Pete Hegseth’s second and now ex-wife, Samantha Hegseth, told her that she once hid in a closet from Hegseth because she feared for her safety. She said the incident occurred between 2014 and 2016. She noted that the anecdote was consistent with Heggs’ behavior she had observed over the years.
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Hegseth’s former sister-in-law also claimed that his ex-wife had a plan that she would use if she ever needed to get rid of her husband. The plan involved Samantha Hegseth sending a safeword text message to Danielle Hegseth, who would then call a person who could help Her friend called. Danielle Hegseth wrote that she received a text message with a safeword and called the friend once between 2015 and 2016. Pete and Samantha Hegseth were married from 2010 to 2018.
Danielle Hegseth acknowledged that she did not witness the abuse, pointing to what she learned about it from Hegseth’s ex-wife.
She claimed that during one incident in 2009, Hegseth drunkenly yelled at her and had to be pulled away, and that she witnessed Hegseth drinking heavily on multiple occasions. She said Hegseth would drink to the point of passing out at family events and described a situation in which he was dragged out of a bar one night and another incident where she said he passed out in a bar bathroom.
The affidavit was signed on Tuesday in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Hegseth’s former sister-in-law noted in the affidavit that her statement repeated what she told the FBI.
Danielle Hegseth said she responded because she believed her former brother-in-law was unfit to be defense minister. She encouraged the Senate to consider the affidavit when voting on Hegseth’s nomination, which was approved by the committee on Monday.
Hegseth’s attorney, Parlatore, denied the allegations in a statement, saying Hegseth’s ex-wife “never alleged any abuse.” He said Samantha Hegseth signed court documents and reiterated that there was no abuse during the FBI interview.
“The anti-Trump far-left Democrat Danielle Dietrich divorced Mr. Hegseth’s brother and never got along with the Hegseth family,” Parlatore said. Her belated accusation will do nothing to change that. “Following a bitter divorce, Ms. Dietrich harbored ill will toward the entire Hegseth family.”
Samantha Hegseth could not immediately be reached for comment, but she told NBC News in an email that “I do not believe your information is accurate” and declined to discuss her marriage to Hegseth.
Hegseth appeared before military committee over his comments confirmation hearing Last week, he faced tough questioning from Democrats over his views on women in the military and allegations of sexual assault, which he also denied.
Hegseth has faced intense scrutiny over his reported background and for weeks was considered to have the steepest path to confirmation of any Trump Cabinet nominee. But Republican senators on the Armed Services Committee defended his nomination at the hearing, and after the hearing, a key member, Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, expressed support for Hegseth’s confirmation.
contributed to this report.
