By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON (Reuters) –
Pete Hegseth’s ex-sister-in-law said in a statement to senators on Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon abused his second ex-wife to the point where she once hid in a closet and gave friends a code they used in a crisis.
“I believe Samantha feared for her safety,” Danielle Hegseth, who was married to Pete Hegseth’s brother, said in a signed statement after a Jan. 18 request by Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Pete Hegseth denies abusing Samantha Hegseth.
Reuters reviewed a copy of the Jan. 21 affidavit, which also contains allegations against Hegseth of alcohol abuse and remarks Danielle Hegseth found offensive, including shouts of “No means yes!” in a bar in 2013, which she said she witnessed.
In the affidavit, she understood that Hegseth meant to indicate a belief that men do not need to obtain sexual consent from women.
“As I told the FBI, I also heard Hegseth say that women shouldn’t have the right to vote and shouldn’t work,” she told NBC News.
Hegseth’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, told Reuters to read his statement to other media outlets.
Parlatore was quoted by NBC as saying that Samantha “never claimed abuse, signed court documents confirming there was no abuse and recently confirmed the same during an interview with the FBI.”
Samantha Hegseth could not be reached for comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Samantha Hegseth was quoted as telling NBC News, which first published the affidavit, “There was no physical abuse in my marriage.”
A 2021 Minnesota court filing, signed by both Pete and Samantha Hegseth and seen by Reuters, said the court did not find that “there is probable cause to believe that either parent or the parent’s child has been physically abused or threatened with physical abuse.” abuse by the other parent.”
The accusations come as the Republican-led Senate prepares to vote on Hegseth’s confirmation. The thin Republican majority in the Senate means Hegseth could lose the support of up to three senators to be confirmed if Democrats and independents unite against him.
Danielle Hegseth claims that Pete Hegseth abused Samantha.
“Samantha also told me that she once hid in her closet from Hegseth because she feared for her personal safety,” she said in the affidavit, without elaborating.
She also described Samantha’s plan “if she felt she needed to get away from Hegseth” which involved her sending a code word, which she did not specify in the document. If Danielle Hegseth received that code, she had to contact another friend to fly to Minnesota to help.
“Samantha sent me this code word sometime in 2015-2016, and I called another person to tell them that Samantha needed help,” Danielle Hegseth said. She did not reveal the friend’s name in the affidavit, and Reuters could not confirm her statement.
Reed said in a statement Tuesday that the many allegations against Hegseth over the past few months “require a thorough background investigation.”
“I was concerned that the background check process was inadequate, and this statement confirms my fears,” he said.
“The alleged pattern of abuse and misconduct by Mr. Hegseth is disturbing. This kind of behavior would disqualify any member of the military from holding any leadership position in the military, much less being confirmed as Secretary of Defense.”
It is not clear what specific allegations Reed was referring to. Reuters has seen a copy of the 2017 complaint alleging sexual assault, which Hegseth has denied.
Several episodes involving Hegseth have raised concerns among Democratic lawmakers, including sexual assault allegations against Hegseth in 2017 that did not result in charges.
Hegseth was also accused of excessive drinking and financial mismanagement of veterans’ organizations. Hegseth has vowed to abstain from alcohol if found guilty and said he made financial mistakes while running the organizations but has denied wrongdoing.
In a 2021 incident first reported by Reuters, Hegseth was labeled an “insider threat” by a fellow National Guard member because of his tattoos. During his Senate confirmation hearing, Hegseth noted the incident that saw him pulled from guard duty in Washington during Biden’s inauguration.
