Hegseth's mother complained about his treatment of women: NYT

The mother of Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump's pick for Defense secretary, reportedly sent him an email in 2018 accusing the former Fox News host of "routinely mistreating women for years" and displaying a "lack of character," The New York Times reported on Friday.

“On behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way, I say … get some help and take an honest look at yourself,” Penelope Hegseth wrote to her son, according to text of the email published by the Times.

“I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth," she added, according to The Times.

In a phone interview with The Times, Penelope Hegseth said that she sent a follow-up message at the time apologizing for her original email, claiming she sent the email "in anger, with emotion” when her son and his wife were going through a divorce.

“It is not true. It has never been true,” she told The Times. “I know my son. He is a good father, husband," she added, also saying the email getting published was "disgusting."

Trump communications director Steven Cheung called The Times's airing of the email "despicable."

“The New York Times is despicable for using an out-of-context snippet of an illegally-obtained private email exchange between a mother and her son that does not accurately reflect the entirety of the conversation. In subsequent emails, Mrs. Hegseth expressed regret for her emotional message and apologized," Cheung said in an emailed statement.

The New York Times said the email was obtained from someone with ties to the Hegseth family.

Hegseth has come under fire over allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017, which surfaced after Trump shocked many in Washington by picking the Army veteran and longtime TV host to lead the Pentagon.

Hegseth has denied the allegations of wrongdoing, and said the encounter was consensual. Timothy Parlatore, Pete Hegseth's lawyer, said his client “is completely innocent.”

“He was cleared after a police investigation determined that the woman was the aggressor in the situation and was then the subject of blackmail. False claims like this undermine the gravity of real sexual assault cases," Parlatore said in the statement.

Pete Hegseth has also faced criticism for saying in a recent interview that women should not hold combat roles in the military and his calls to eliminate “woke” generals from the Pentagon, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. C.Q. Brown.

While no Republican senators have outright opposed his confirmation, some have expressed skepticism about the pick. Only four Republicans would need to side with Democrats in opposing Hegseth’s nomination to tank his chances.

Topics

Pete Hegseth’s Mother Accused Her Son of Mistreating Women for Years

Penelope Hegseth made the accusation in an email to her son in 2018, amid his contentious divorce. She said on Friday that she regretted the email and had apologized to him.
Top stories - The New York Times - 5 hours ago
Pete Hegseth's remarks about women in combat are met with disgust and dissent

They lost limbs in battle, led security convoys and survived several combat tours.
Politics - NBC News - November 15
Sen. Tammy Duckworth says Pete Hegseth is "flat-out wrong" about women in combat roles

Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a combat veteran of the Iraq War, tells "Face the Nation" that Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Defense Department, is ...
Top stories - CBS News - 5 days ago
What does Trump's tapping of Rubio and Hegseth say about his foreign policy plans?

President-elect Donald Trump has already made picks for key foreign policy roles in his new administration: Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida for secretary of state, and Fox News host and combat veteran ...
Top stories - CBS News - November 13
Iran announces ‘treatment clinic’ for women who defy strict hijab laws

The move has been described as ‘chilling’ by activists and rights groups as arrests mount over dress code breaches . The Iranian state has said that it plans to open a treatment clinic for women ...
World - The Guardian - November 14
Doctor who poisoned his mother's partner gets 31 years in prison

Dr. Thomas Kwan who was disgruntled about his inheritance disguised himself as a nurse to inject Patrick O'Hara with a flesh-eating poison.
Top stories - CBS News - November 6
He Was One of New York’s Busiest Shoplifters. His Mother Was a Cop.

Drug addiction fueled David Andino’s need to steal. Every day, he hit the same Target in Manhattan. His mother, a retired police officer, hadn’t seen him in years.
Top stories - The New York Times - 3 days ago
It started with Elon. Now there’s another celebrity Musk in China: His mother.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk is big in China — but his mother is a rapidly rising star there as well.
Top stories - NBC News - 18 hours ago