Senators have received an affidavit from the former sister-in-law of Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s controversial pick for secretary of defense, alleging that the nominee’s aggressive behavior prompted his second wife to fear for her safety. Hegseth and his ex-wife, who divorced in 2018, have denied the allegations.
As NBC News first reported, the former sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, submitted the affidavit after the top Democrat on the Senate armed forces committee, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, sent her a letter requesting a statement on her “personal knowledge about Mr Hegseth’s fitness to occupy this important position”.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Reed confirmed his outreach to Danielle and noted that the affidavit has now been made available to all senators for their review. According to Reed, the affidavit outlines claims that Hegseth regularly drank alcohol to the point of excess and caused his family members to fear for their safety.
The affidavit indicates that Hegseth’s second wife, Samantha Hegseth, became so fearful that she instituted a “safe word” with friends to indicate when she was in danger and once hid in a closet to escape her then husband. Reed added that the affidavit alleges Hegseth said “women should not vote or work, and that Christians needed to have more children so they could overtake the Muslim population”.
According to Danielle, she shared details of Hegseth’s allegedly aggressive behavior with the FBI when the bureau conducted a background check on the nominee last month, but Reed said the testimony did not appear in the final background check briefing provided by Trump’s transition team earlier this month.
“I have been concerned that the background check process has been inadequate, and this affidavit confirms that fact,” Reed said in his statement. “The sworn affidavit from this courageous woman, provided at enormous personal risk and with nothing to gain, documents a disturbing pattern of abuse and misconduct by Mr. Hegseth. This behavior would disqualify any servicemember from holding any leadership position in the military, much less being confirmed as the Secretary of Defense.”
Samantha Hegseth disputed the claims outlined in the affidavit, telling NBC News: “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.”
A lawyer for Hegseth similarly denied the accusations against him, saying: “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.”
As of now, Hegseth is expected to be narrowly confirmed by the Senate despite concerns over allegations of sexual assault, financial mismanagement and excessive alcohol use. His nomination was approved by the Senate armed services committee on Monday by a party-line vote.
Although he has denied the allegation of sexual assault, Hegseth paid a settlement to a woman who accused him of rape in 2017. He refused to answer multiple questions during his confirmation hearing about the sexual assault and his drinking, calling them “anonymous smears”.
