FBI Background Check Of Defense Secretary Nominee Pete Hegseth Failed To Contact Woman Who Accused Him Of Assault & Ex-Wives

The FBI background check into Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth did not investigate significant trouble spots in his life, including his relationships with his ex-wives and a sexual assault allegation from 2017. 

During his hearing on Tuesday, when asked to label the allegations against him as “true or false,” Hegsdeth repeatedly responded by calling them “anonymous smears.”

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) referenced an event in North Carolina where Hegsdeth allegedly was “drunk in front of three young female staff members, after you had instituted a no alcohol policy and then reversed it.”

Additionally, he was asked: “While in Louisiana on official business for [his nonprofit], did you take your staff, including young female staff members, to a strip club?” 

“Is it accurate that the organization reached a financial settlement with a female staffer who claimed to be at a strip club with and there was a colleague who attempted to sexually assault her? Was there a financial settlement?” Kelly added.

“Senator, I’m not involved in that,” Hegseth said.

The claims arose from a whistleblower report detailed in The New Yorker with alleged repeated instances of Hegseth drinking heavily at work events, which included a team outing to a strip club in Louisiana in November 2014. The report claimed that Hegseth became intoxicated to a level that required restraint to prevent him from climbing on stage.

Hegseth said he was the target of a smear campaign but acknowledged overcoming personal struggles. 

Kelly countered, “It can’t be both.”

“Which is it? Have you overcome personal issues? Or are you the target of a smear campaign?… It’s clear to me, to me that you’re not being honest with us, or the American people, because you know the truth would disqualify you from getting the job,” Kelly said.

During the hearing, Hegseth was interrupted by protesters who called him a “misogynist.”

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