WASHINGTON — Senators on both sides of the aisle raised new questions on Wednesday about the vetting process for Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, pointing to allegations that were not disclosed by the Trump transition team as part of Hegseth’s FBI background check that was transmitted to two key lawmakers ahead of his confirmation hearing.
Those questions come a day after Danielle Hegseth, Pete Hegseth’s former sister-in-law, said in a sworn affidavit that Pete made his ex-wife, Samantha Hegseth, “fear for her safety” while they were married. The affidavit was submitted in response to a request for information sent by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the committee.
Danielle Hegseth said in the affidavit, the existence of which was first reported by NBC News, that she had provided the information in the affidavit to the FBI over the course of two conversations since December, including one on Saturday. The information she provided in the first conversation was not relayed by the Trump team to the leadership of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which held the confirmation hearing. The second conversation occurred after the hearing.
In response to a previous request for comment from NBC News, Samantha Hegseth said, “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.”
Among the allegations included in are that Samantha once hid in her closet from Hegseth, that she developed escape plans for use “if she felt she needed to get away from Hegseth” that would be activated with a code word and that she did once put the escape plans into action.
An unredacted version of the affidavit has now been viewed by more than 20 senators, including several Republicans, according to two people with knowledge of the process. A copy of the unredacted affidavit has been made available to all senators. According to two people who have viewed the unredacted affidavit filed by Danielle Hegseth, and recounted it to NBC News, it contains a previously unreported allegation.
“As I told the FBI, Samantha once told me that Hegseth grabbed her groin without consent at their home. Samantha told me about this sometime during the years between 2014-2016,” Danielle Hegseth says in the affidavit. “I believe what Samantha told me because what she told me is consistent with what I personally observed of Hegseth’s erratic and aggressive behavior over many years.”
Danielle Hegseth also notes in the affidavit that this “occurred in the privacy of [Samantha and Pete Hegseth’s] home and I did not personally witness physical or sexual abuse by Hegseth.”
A lawyer for Samantha Hegseth did not respond to a request for comment on this previously unreported allegation.
Asked for comment on this allegation, Tim Parlatore, a lawyer for Pete Hegseth, said in an email, “As NBC is well aware, the actual participant, Samantha has denied these false allegations, yet NBC continues to irresponsibly report false allegations by an uninvolved third party as if they were fact.”
Senators’ concerns
Asked on Wednesday whether she was concerned that the FBI background check into Pete Hegseth provided by the Trump transition was incomplete, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, replied, “I am.”
Collins’ office told NBC News the senator had not seen the unredacted copy of the affidavit, which contains the previously unreported allegation.
“Let me say that because I’m not a member of the [Armed Services Committee], I’ve not seen the FBI background check, but I’ve heard from others that pertinent information has not been included, and that is troubling,” Collins said. “Because when you’re making a decision on a nominee you want to have as complete a picture as possible.”
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who viewed the unredacted affidavit on Tuesday afternoon when it first became available to senators, said Wednesday he was not previously aware that the Trump transition, and not the FBI, sets the parameters around what from a nominee’s background check is presented to the top two senators on the committee considering the nomination. In any transition or administration, the scope and timing of a background check are set not by the FBI but by the organization requesting it be done for a nominee.
“I’m looking into it to see procedurally, if that, if that’s how it’s done,” Tillis said. “And then trying to just figure out: is that an aberration? Or is that how it’s been done between Democrat and Republican members? Don’t know.”
Tillis revealed that he sought to “corroborate” Danielle Hegseth’s allegations because he spoke to other witnesses with their own “interesting accounts” of experiences with Pete Hegseth.
He also suggested he was still undecided on Hegseth after voting — along with all other Republican senators — to move forward with Hegseth’s nomination on Tuesday.
“I’m interested in anything until the final vote. I voted on the motion to proceed last night, but I’ve made it very clear to the administration, my colleagues, that I treat every one of these pieces of information with respect, the would-be witnesses with respect. I’ve just got to confirm facts and corroborate,” he said.
A spokesperson for the FBI told NBC News on Wednesday that the bureau “does not comment on specific background investigations.”
In a statement, the FBI said, “Being completed as expeditiously as possible, the background investigation focuses on character and conduct. The FBI serves as an investigative service provider and does not adjudicate or render an opinion on the results of the background investigation. The FBI’s role is purely fact-finding. Once the investigation is complete, the report is sent to the Office of White House Counsel or the Office of the President-Elect for their use as deemed appropriate.”
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a member of the Armed Services Committee who announced she would support Hegseth’s nomination hours after his confirmation hearing last Tuesday, told NBC News on Wednesday “the FBI has done their job” when asked about the allegations contained in the document.
“The ex-wife has denied the allegations. … I think we need to take her at her word,” Ernst said.
Samantha and Pete Hegseth, who have three children together, both signed a court document in 2021 that said neither parent claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse.
Hegseth’s attorney Parlatore said he was in contact with Samantha Hegseth around the time she provided a statement to NBC News on Tuesday afternoon, just prior to NBC News’ publication of a story revealing the existence of the affidavit.
In a response to a request for comment and additional questions sent to him by NBC News Tuesday afternoon, Parlatore had emailed: “We have just communicated with Pete’s ex-wife … she will be emailing you shortly, CC’ing Pete, and will make clear that there was never any abuse.”
On Wednesday, Parlatore sent a letter to Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, urging that Wicker “reject” Danielle Hegseth’s sworn affidavit and instead “rely upon the Minnesota Court records and the FBI’s findings” to “move forward to confirm” Hegseth. The letter was first reported by Punchbowl News.
Wicker told reporters later in the day that to him the affidavit “essentially doesn’t change much.”
“I think the nomination is going to go forward,” he added. “Are you asking if I am inclined to move from a yes vote? My answer is that I’m still a firm yes.”
A final vote on Pete Hegseth’s nomination could take place by the weekend. A simple majority, or 51 out of 100, is required for Hegseth to be confirmed by the Senate, where Republicans have a four-vote margin.
