New allegations against Pete Hegseth alarm Democrats as Pentagon confirmation looms

Senate Democrats are sounding the alarm over a sworn affidavit from the ex-sister-in-law of Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth that accuses him of being abusive toward his second wife.

The document emerged Tuesday, one day after the Senate Armed Services Committee advanced Hegseth’s nomination on a party-line vote and as Senate Republicans push to complete his confirmation in the coming days.

Danielle Hegseth, who was married to Pete Hegseth’s brother, detailed the claims in a six-page statement that said Samantha Hegseth, the second wife of the Defense secretary nominee, once had to hide in a closet out of fear and devised a plan to deploy if she ever needed to get away.

It also mentioned multiple instances of alcohol abuse over many years.

“I believe Hegseth to be an erratic, volatile person with an alcohol abuse problem,” she wrote, according to a redacted version viewed by The Hill. “I do not believe he is trustworthy or of good character. It is my opinion he is unfit to serve as Secretary of Defense.”

Samantha Hegseth denied the allegations in an email to NBC News.

“First and foremost, I have not and will not comment on my marriage to Pete Hegseth. I do not have representatives speaking on my behalf, nor have I ever asked anyone to share or speak about the details of my marriage on my behalf, whether it be a reporter, a committee member, a transition team member, etc,” she wrote.

She added, “I do not believe your information to be accurate, and I have cc’d my lawyer.”

But the eleventh-hour revelations caused increasing distress for Democrats already distrustful of Pete Hegseth and doubtful of his ability to lead the massive agency.

“It means we shouldn’t rush this,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a member of the Armed Services panel. “There is no need to do this in the next day or two. This should not be rushed because I believe the allegations raise other questions.”

Shortly after NBC News reported on Danielle Hegseth’s statement, Senate Democrats on the committee individually viewed the unredacted version of the affidavit and emerged upset and worried that the news would be too late to stop the nomination.

“The report that has come to light is entirely consistent with everything that we have already learned about Pete Hegseth,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said, pointing to what she said was Hegseth’s public drunkenness, “conduct unbecoming” of someone donning military dress and his attitudes toward women.

Republicans have decried the anonymous reports surrounding Hegseth’s nomination, including those related to a 2017 allegation of sexual assault that was unknown to President Trump’s transition team at the time of Hegseth's nomination. Hegseth has denied wrongdoing.

However, Democrats were quick to note that the ex-sister-in-law not only put her name on the affidavit but swore an oath under a penalty of perjury.

Warren noted that there were no Republican members of the panel in the room to examine the affidavit, and reporters present did not see any GOP lawmakers enter the Senate Armed Services Committee room to do so.

Danielle Hegseth wrote in her statement that she discussed the Pentagon nominee during an interview with the FBI in December, and that she was reiterating those comments to the Armed Services Committee after the bureau refused to release to her any transcripts of her interview.

She said that it was unclear whether any of her comments made it into the FBI’s report to the panel on the Fox News host — a development that also concerned Democrats.

“It’s clear that the FBI has not followed up on the leads that it’s been given and has rushed through a report that is incomplete,” Warren said.

Timothy Parlatore, a lawyer for the Pentagon nominee, dismissed the allegations and said that Danielle Hegseth has an “axe to grind.”

"Sam has never alleged that there was any abuse, she signed court documents acknowledging that there was no abuse and recently reaffirmed the same during her FBI interview. Belated claims by Danielle Dietrich, an anti-Trump far left Democrat who is divorced from Mr. Hegseth’s brother and never got along with the Hegseth family, do nothing to change that," he said in a statement to NBC News.

"After an acrimonious divorce, Ms. Dietrich has had an axe to grind against the entire Hegseth family," he added. "Ms. Dietrich admits that she saw nothing but is now falsely accusing Sam of lying to both the Court and to the FBI because of private, undocumented statements that she allegedly made 10 years ago."

Democrats declined to divulge what was in the unredacted version, including whether it contained a second allegation of sexual assault.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), an Armed Services panel member, told reporters that the unredacted report was “even more powerful” but declined to go any further.

What remains unclear, however, is whether the development will change any votes on the Republican side or affect Hegseth's confirmation process. He can lose up to three members and still get across the finish line to become secretary.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) indicated plans to move in the coming days on more of Trump’s national security nominees, including Hegseth and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), who was tapped to lead the Department of Homeland Security.

Senate Democrats are expected to force a number of procedural votes in order to stall the eventual confirmation, one Senate Democratic aide told The Hill.

But barring any last-minute changes of heart by a requisite number of GOP members, Democrats are worried that this news will not change the end result.

“Yes, I think it would have been helpful to have had it early,” Warren said when asked if she wished Danielle Hegseth went public prior to Tuesday.

“What I read in that affidavit reinforces the idea that not only is Pete Hegseth not qualified to be secretary of Defense, he is truly a danger,” she added.

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