Unredacted affidavit contains previously unreported allegation about Pete Hegseth’s behavior toward second wife
Hegseth has denied all allegations in the affidavit, which was written by his former sister-in-law.
WASHINGTON — Senators on both sides of the aisle raised new questions on Wednesday about the vetting process for Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, pointing to allegations that were not disclosed by the Trump transition team as part of Hegseth’s FBI background check that was transmitted to two key lawmakers ahead of his confirmation hearing.
Those questions come a day after Danielle Hegseth, Pete Hegseth’s former sister-in-law, said in a sworn affidavit that Pete made his ex-wife, Samantha Hegseth, “fear for her safety” while they were married. The affidavit was submitted in response to a request for information sent by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the committee.
Danielle Hegseth said in the affidavit, the existence of which was first reported by NBC News, that she had provided the information in the affidavit to the FBI over the course of two conversations since December, including one on Saturday. The information she provided in the first conversation was not relayed by the Trump team to the leadership of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which held the confirmation hearing. The second conversation occurred after the hearing.
In response to a previous request for comment from NBC News, Samantha Hegseth said, “There was no physical abuse in my marriage. This is the only further statement I will make to you, I have let you know that I am not speaking and will not speak on my marriage to Pete. Please respect this decision.”
Among the allegations are that Samantha once hid from Hegseth in a closet, that she developed escape plans “if she felt she needed to get away from Hegseth” that would be activated with a code word, and that she did once put the escape plans into action.
Rating: 5