The mother of Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump's pick for Defense secretary, reportedly sent him an email in 2018 accusing the former Fox News host of "routinely mistreating women for years" and displaying a "lack of character," The New York Times reported on Friday.
“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,” Penelope Hegseth wrote to her son, according to text of the email published by the Times.
“I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. 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," she added, according to The Times.
In a phone interview with The Times, Penelope Hegseth said that she sent a follow-up message at the time apologizing for her original email, claiming she sent the email "in anger, with emotion” when her son and his wife were going through a divorce.
“It is not true. It has never been true,” she told The Times. “I know my son. He is a good father, husband," she added, also saying the email getting published was "disgusting."
Trump communications director Steven Cheung called The Times's airing of the email "despicable."
“The New York Times is despicable for using an out-of-context snippet of an illegally-obtained private email exchange between a mother and her son that does not accurately reflect the entirety of the conversation. In subsequent emails, Mrs. Hegseth expressed regret for her emotional message and apologized," Cheung said in an emailed statement.
The New York Times said the email was obtained from someone with ties to the Hegseth family.
Hegseth has come under fire over allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017, which surfaced after Trump shocked many in Washington by picking the Army veteran and longtime TV host to lead the Pentagon.
Hegseth has denied the allegations of wrongdoing, and said the encounter was consensual. Timothy Parlatore, Pete Hegseth's lawyer, said his client “is completely innocent.”
“He was cleared after a police investigation determined that the woman was the aggressor in the situation and was then the subject of blackmail. False claims like this undermine the gravity of real sexual assault cases," Parlatore said in the statement.
Pete Hegseth has also faced criticism for saying in a recent interview that women should not hold combat roles in the military and his calls to eliminate “woke” generals from the Pentagon, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. C.Q. Brown.
While no Republican senators have outright opposed his confirmation, some have expressed skepticism about the pick. Only four Republicans would need to side with Democrats in opposing Hegseth’s nomination to tank his chances.
