Pete Hegseth committed the offense Wednesday in Congress and in the media, in an effort to salvage a nomination to lead the Pentagon that has been pushed to the brink by allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking.
In private meetings with lawmakers, interviews and a combative social media post, Hegseth is waging what appears to be an increasingly uphill battle to become newly elected President Donald Trump’s defense secretary.
His attorney, meanwhile, is on the defense, rejecting allegations that the military veteran and Fox News host sexually assaulted a woman, abused alcohol and committed other misconduct.
“He looks forward to the FBI investigation and wants it to begin now,” attorney Timothy Parlatore said in an interview with POLITICO.
It was unclear whether their combined efforts would be enough. Trump still publicly supported the nomination, but people close to the president-elect said he was considering contingency plans — including nominating his former rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Hegseth met with Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a combat veteran and sexual assault survivor whose support will be crucial to his confirmation — though there was no sign he had won her over. “It was a frank and thorough conversation,” she told reporters as she left their meeting.
The nominee portrayed himself in a lengthy interview on SiriusXM’s “The Megyn Kelly Show” and in a post on X and elsewhere as a victim — a “textbook manufactured media takedown,” as he put it in an op-ed in The Wall. Street news. He vowed to fight a barrage of allegations, including a woman’s accusation that he sexually assaulted her after a night of drinking at a Republican conference in Monterey, California, in 2017. He was never charged in the incident but paid a financial settlement with his party. prosecutor — and it is unclear whether he disclosed the fact of that payment to the Trump transition team.
Parlatore defended Hegseth’s communications with the Trump team.
“It’s not something you necessarily expect to make public,” the lawyer said. “Have you ever been falsely accused of something that the police investigated and cleared you?” That is not a question that comes up in a background check.”
He also pushed back on other allegations, including that employees of two veterans organizations where he held leadership roles alleged he drank excessively, mismanaged funds and ignored the misconduct of other employees. Internal reports cited by The New Yorker described how a drunken Hegseth had to be stopped from climbing the stage at a strip club and leading a chant of “Kill all the Muslims!” in a bar.
Parlatore insists his client was not involved in either incident. A group of employees, he said, went to a strip club together, and one of them tried to climb on stage, but Hegseth was not on the outing.
The only grain of truth in the allegations concerned his drinking while leading Concerned Veterans for America, Hegseth’s attorney said.
“If you strip away all the falsity, you have a bunch of young combat veterans who got together, did a great job, and after the work was done, they went to the bar and drank too much every now and then,” he said. “That’s not a scandal.”
The accusation of rape is the most damaging. Parlatore reiterated previous comments, saying Hegseth had a consensual sexual encounter with the accuser and that no criminal charges were ever filed in the incident.
Hegseth said in a post on X that he would fight to remain as a nominee. “Our warriors never give up, and neither do I,” he wrote.
Two people close to Trump who were granted anonymity to discuss the nomination said Wednesday that they noted how Hegseth has aggressively pushed back on the claims, and that the president-elect has made it clear he wants his team to fight for the nominee .
Parlatore said Hegseth is looking forward to an FBI background check — a standard step for any nominee that has been delayed because the Trump team only signed an agreement on Dec. 3 to authorize the investigations.
“Pete can’t wait for the FBI to investigate him because he believes the FBI is going to do what – don’t take this personally – what the media hasn’t done, which is actually do a full investigation, look at everything from both sides. parties, and not just take anonymous, uncorroborated statements and run with them,” he said.
While the allegations may have surprised Mar-a-Lago’s transition team, Hegseth was aware of them — and disputed them.
In 2018, Parlatore sent a letter to a former employee of Concerned Veterans of America, where Hegseth was CEO, accusing her of trying to get a reporter to publish lies about his client to damage his reputation and career prospects. Parlatore said his client would sue the woman if a news story were published and undertake “intensive electronic discovery efforts.” He also told her to get a lawyer. The story never ran.
But now that he has been nominated for one of the most powerful jobs in the country, claims about Hegseth’s background are becoming public. And behind closed doors on Capitol Hill, senators are questioning the nominee about those claims.
“Any questions they have, he answers very directly,” Parlatore said.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R.-Miss.) told reporters that the nominee promised to stop drinking if confirmed. And Hegseth told Megyn Kelly that his meetings with Senate Republicans had been encouraging — including discussions about his sexual history.
“You’d be surprised how little has come out of there,” he said.
Meridith McGraw contributed to this report.
