Democrats are raising alarms over the FBI background check into Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump‘s nominee for secretary of defense, expressing concerns that crucial information may be withheld ahead of his confirmation hearing.
Newsweek contacted Hegseth’s lawyer for comment via email outside normal office hours.
Why It Matters
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has become one of Trump’s most contentious Cabinet nominees. Amid scrutiny over his qualifications to lead the Department of Defense and allegations regarding his personal life, he is likely to face a difficult path to confirmation in the Senate.
What To Know
On Friday, FBI officials briefed the senior members of the Senate Armed Services Committee regarding the results of their background check into Hegseth, The New York Times reported.
According to the outlet, Senator Roger Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi and chair of the Armed Services Committee, and Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the committee’s most senior Democrat, each met separately with FBI officials for more than an hour on Friday.
The FBI typically briefs only the chair and ranking member of committees on the results of background checks for Cabinet nominees. Senators have the opportunity to examine the findings and ask questions during these sessions, but they do not receive copies of the report to distribute to their fellow members.
As the FBI’s findings were not shared with the other committee members, several Democrats have expressed concerns that they could lack crucial information for Hegseth’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, told the Times that senators’ lack of promised access to Hegseth’s background check gave the “appearance of a cover-up.”
“Damning is an understatement,” Blumenthal also told the outlet, commenting on information about Hegseth that he was made aware of and believed would appear in the FBI report.
Public reports of allegations against Hegseth include claims of mismanagement of veterans’ nonprofits and frequent public intoxication. In 2017, he was also investigated in connection with an alleged sexual assault in California. Hegseth said the encounter was consensual, and no charges were filed against him.
Hegseth graduated from Princeton University in 2003 and was subsequently commissioned as an infantry captain in the Army National Guard. He was deployed to Guantanamo Bay with the New Jersey National Guard before serving in Iraq in 2006 as a platoon commander and civil-military operations officer.
In 2012, Hegseth returned to active duty as a captain and was soon deployed to Afghanistan with the Minnesota National Guard, where he worked as a counterinsurgency instructor in Kabul. Throughout his military service, Hegseth received two Bronze Stars and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
What People Are Saying
Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, told The New York Times: “I need to see his FBI background check, we need to see his financial disclosures. And we need to know about any other potential lawsuits he might be facing, any other allegations he might be facing.”
Timothy Parlatore, Hegseth’s lawyer, previously told Newsweek: “Although an allegation was made, it was fully investigated and Pete was cleared. This unfortunate episode should have zero impact on the confirmation process.”
What Happens Next
Hegseth’s Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for January 14 at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time.
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