Pete Hegseth’s Mom Calls Him ‘Abuser of Women’ in Released Email
The mother of Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, accused her son of mistreating and abusing women in an email released by the New York Times. Penelope Hegseth sent the email, which recounts his treatment of women, on April 30, 2018 while he was in the midst of a divorce from his second wife, Samantha Hegseth.
“You are an abuser of women — that is the ugly truth and I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego,” Penelope wrote. “You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth… your abuse over the years to women (dishonesty, sleeping around, betrayal, debasing, belittling) needs to be called out.”
According to the Times, Samantha filed for divorce after her husband impregnated a co-worker. In the email, Penelope wrote, “Sam is a good mother and a good person (under the circumstances that you created) and I know deep down you know that. For you to try to label her as ‘unstable’ for your own advantage is despicable and abusive. Is there any sense of decency left in you? She did not ask for or deserve any of what has come to her by your hand.” She added, referring to Hegseth’s first wife, “Neither did Meredith.”
Penelope sent the email to her son, as well as Samantha. It was obtained by the Times from “another person with ties to the Hegseth family.” Penelope condemned her initial email in an interview with the newspaper on Friday night, saying she had sent her son an immediate follow-up email apologizing for what she had written “in anger, with emotion.”
She said her statements about his treatment of women was “not true.” “It has never been true,” she said. “I know my son. He is a good father, husband.”
In the email, Penelope wrote, “We still love you, but we are broken by your behavior and lack of character. I don’t want to write emails like this and never thought I would. If it damages our relationship further, then so be it, but at least I have said my piece.”
She concluded, “You twist and abuse everything I say anyway,” noting that “on behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way, I say… get some help and take an honest look at yourself…”
Earlier this month, it emerged that Hegseth, a former Army service member and former Fox News host, was investigated over an alleged sexual assault in Monterey, California in 2017. The City of Monterey confirmed that a police report had been made involving Hegseth. The information provided indicated that the city’s police department had “investigated an alleged sexual assault,” which took place around the early morning hours of Oct. 8, 2017, at 1 Old Golf Course Road.
CNN previously reported that, according to Hegseth’s attorney, Hegseth paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault in a settlement agreement that included a confidentiality clause. His lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, said Hegseth denied the assault and called the 2017 incident a “consensual sexual encounter.”
Parlatore also told Vanity Fair that the “allegation was already investigated by the Monterey police department and they found no evidence for it.” Hegeseth later declared “the battle is just beginning” in regards to the allegation.
Matt Gaetz previously withdrew his name from consideration to become Donald Trump’s attorney general over sexual misconduct accusations and Trump’s team is reportedly pissed that Hegseth did not inform them in advance about the allegations surrounding him.
“How did he not know? Why didn’t he tell us?” a source close to Trump told Rolling Stone. “Pete wasn’t interviewing for a job at McDonald’s; this is the fucking Pentagon! … Even if the allegations are fake, it doesn’t matter because he was supposed to tell us what we needed to know so we could be better prepared to defend him — not learn about it from the media.”
Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign’s communications director, said in a statement: “Pete Hegseth dedicated his entire life as a warrior for the troops and for our country.” He added, “With Pete as our Secretary of Defense, America’s enemies are on notice and our military will be great again. We look forward to his confirmation and to him serving as Secretary of Defense.”
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