In a sworn affidavit obtained by Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee, the former sister-in-law of defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth said that Hegseth’s ex-wife Samantha told her she “once hid in her closet from Hegseth because she feared for her personal safety” in the home she shared with Hegseth during their marriage.
The affidavit, which details concerns about allegedly abusive behavior by Hegseth against Samantha, who was Hegseth’s second wife, came from Danielle Hegseth, who was previously married to Hegseth’s brother.
News of the affidavit was first reported by NBC News, which reported that Samantha refuted many of the claims in the affidavit in a statement to NBC.
“There was no physical abuse in my marriage. This is the only further statement I will make to you, I have let you know that I am not speaking and will not speak on my marriage to Pete. Please respect this decision,” NBC reported that Samantha said in an email.
“Sam 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,” said an attorney for Pete Hegseth, Tim Parlatore, who accused Danielle Hegseth of being “an anti-Trump far-left Democrat” who “had an ax to grind against the entire Hegseth family.”
Samantha did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Sen. Jack Reed, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, requested the sworn statement from Danielle Hegseth in a letter sent on Jan. 18, after Hegseth had already appeared for a public hearing before the committee.
According to the partially redacted affidavit, obtained by ABC News, Danielle initially provided much of the information in the document to the FBI under the condition of anonymity. But she attests that she was unsure how much of the information was in the FBI report that members of the Armed Services Committee were briefed on, and later made the choice to publicly share her observations in an affidavit.
Hegseth’s nomination to serve as secretary of defense cleared the Senate Armed Services Committee by a party-line vote last Monday. His nomination can afford to lose the support of three Republicans on the Senate floor when it comes up for a vote in the coming days.
“I have chosen to come forward publicly, at significant personal sacrifice, because I am deeply concerned by what Hegseth’s confirmation would mean for our military and our country and because I have been assured that making this public statement will ensure that certain Senators who are still on the fence will vote against Hegseth’s confirmation,” Danielle Hegseth says in the affidavit. “But for that assurance, I would not subject myself or others referred to in this statement to the public scrutiny this statement is likely to cause.”
In the affidavit, she asserts that Hegseth’s second wife, Samantha, had a “plan to deploy if she felt she needed to get away from Hegseth.” The plan involved Samantha sending a text message that included a safe word that meant she should call another person to fly to Minnesota to help Samantha, according to the affidavit. Danielle said she was part of the plan’s deployment on one occasion, but did not specify why the plan was enacted or what happened after she called the other person.
“I believe that Samantha feared for her safety and that she did have this plan, not only because I was part of its deployment one time in 2015-2016 but also because it is consistent with what I personally observed of Hegseth’s erratic and aggressive behavior over many years,” she said.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, faced numerous questions over allegations of misconduct and sexual assault heading into last week’s hearing. He has denied wrongdoing and has never been charged.
The FBI performed a background check on Hegseth, but as ABC News reported, only Reed and Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican Armed Services Committee chairman, were briefed on it.
In the letter requesting a statement from Danielle, Reed wrote that it had come to the committee’s attention that she may have “information that shed light on the fitness of Mr. Hegseth to occupy this important position.” Reed asked for a statement detailing instances of alleged abuse, mistreatment of a spouse, public drunkenness, treatment of women or “any other matter you believe speaks to Mr. Hegseth’s character and fitness.”
Aside from the experiences she says were recounted to Danielle by Samantha, Danielle attested to having personally experienced “emotional abuse” by Hegseth, recounting an alleged episode during which Hegseth yelled at her and was “very, aggressive, in my face.”
She also said Hegseth made “disparaging comments” related to people using Spanish to sing the Star Spangled Banner at a football game, and “rude comments” about women’s looks and his sexual interactions with 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 said.
Danielle, in the affidavit, also recounted alleged episodes of Hegseth drinking too much, to the point of passing out.
Hegseth, throughout his confirmation process, has repeatedly asserted that he is a “changed man.” During his hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month, he told the panel, “I am not a perfect person, but redemption is real.”
Reed, in a statement concerning the affidavit, called the allegations “disturbing.”
“As I have said for months, the reports of Mr. Hegseth’s history of alleged sexual assault, alcohol abuse, and public misconduct necessitate an exhaustive background investigation. I have been concerned that the background check process has been inadequate, and this affidavit confirms my fears,” Reed said in a statement to ABC News. “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.”
A representative for Sen. Wicker did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
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