By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON (Reuters) –
Pete Hegseth’s former sister-in-law said in an affidavit 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 word to use in a crisis.
“I believe that Samantha feared for her safety,” Danielle Hegseth, who was married to Pete Hegseth’s brother, said in a signed affidavit after a Jan. 18 request from Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Pete Hegseth denies abusing Samantha Hegseth.
Reuters has reviewed a copy of the affidavit, dated Jan. 21, which also contains allegations against Hegseth of alcohol abuse and remarks that Danielle Hegseth found offensive, including shouts of “No means yes!” at a bar in 2013, which she said she witnessed.
In the affidavit, she understood Hegseth meant to indicate a belief that men don’t need to obtain sexual consent from women.
“As I told the FBI, I have also heard Hegseth say that women should not have the right to vote and that they should not work,” she told NBC News.
Hegseth’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, told Reuters to read his statement given to other outlets.
Parlatore was quoted by NBC saying that Samantha 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.”
Samantha Hegseth could not be reached for comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Samantha Hegseth was quoted telling NBC News, which first reported 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 that there had been no determination by the court that “there is probable cause to believe that one of the parents or the child of the parents has been physically abused or threatened with physical abuse by the other parent.”
The accusations came as the Republican-led Senate prepares for a vote on Hegseth’s confirmation. The slim Republican Senate majority means that Hegseth can lose support from no more than three senators to be confirmed, if Democrats and independents unite against him.
Danielle Hegseth alleged Pete Hegseth was abusive to 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 providing further details.
She also described Samantha’s plan “if she felt she needed to get away from Hegseth” that involved her texting a code word, which she did not specify in the document. If Danielle Hegseth received that code word, she had to contact another friend to fly to Minnesota to help.
“Samantha did text me this code word sometime in 2015-2016, and I did call the other person to let that person know Samantha needed help,” Danielle Hegseth said. She did not disclose the name of the friend in the affidavit and Reuters was unable to confirm her account.
Reed said in a statement on Tuesday the many allegations against Hegseth over the past several months “necessitate an exhaustive background investigation.”
“I have been concerned that the background check process has been inadequate, and this affidavit confirms my fears,” he said.
“The alleged pattern of abuse and misconduct by Mr. Hegseth is disturbing. This behavior would disqualify any servicemember from holding any leadership position in the military, much less being confirmed as the Secretary of Defense.”
It is unclear which specific allegations Reed was referring to. Reuters has seen a copy of a 2017 complaint alleging sexual assault, which Hegseth has denied.
Several episodes surrounding Hegseth have sparked concern among Democrat lawmakers, including the 2017 sexual assault allegation against Hegseth that did not result in charges.
Hegseth has also been accused of excessive drinking and financial mismanagement at veterans’ organizations. Hegseth has vowed to abstain from alcohol if confirmed and said he made financial errors while running those organizations but denied wrongdoing.
In a 2021 incident first reported by Reuters, Hegseth was branded an “insider threat” by a fellow member of the Army National Guard over his tattoos. During his Senate confirmation hearing, Hegseth noted the incident, which led him to be pulled from Guard duty in Washington during Biden’s inauguration.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
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