Pete Hegseth’s behavior made second wife ‘fear for her safety,’ former sister-in-law claims in new affidavit to senators
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Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, has rejected the claims and his second wife has stated that “there was no physical abuse in my marriage.”. Senators received the affidavit on Tuesday after staffers at the Senate Armed Services Committee had been in touch with the former sister-in-law for a number of days.
Former sister-in-law Danielle Hegseth sent in the affidavit responding to a letter from Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island asking for “a statement attesting to your personal knowledge about Mr. Hegseth’s fitness to occupy this important position.”.
Reed is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. He asked Danielle Hegseth to outline what she was aware of in relation to “instances of abuse, or threats of abuse, perpetrated against any other person” as well as “mistreatment of a spouse, former spouse, or other members of his family,” in addition to further requests, NBC News reported.
On Tuesday, said in a statement, “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 sworn affidavit confirms that fact,” he added, according to NBC News.
He went on to state that “the alleged pattern of abuse and misconduct by Mr. Hegseth is disturbing. This behavior would disqualify any service member from holding any leadership position in the military, much less being confirmed as the Secretary of Defense.”.
