CNN's Pamela Brown on Friday grilled attorney Tim Parlatore about the seemingly contradictory statements made by Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, who was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Department of Defense.
During the interview, Brown pointed to seemingly contradictory claims that Hegseth was both completely innocent of any wrongdoing, but also that he was a "changed man."
"He's admitted that he's a 'changed man' from a few years ago," said Brown. "So how does that square? You're saying he didn't do any of it, but he's a changed man."
"I'm saying he didn't commit the misconduct that they're alleging," replied Parlatore, referring to allegations that Hegseth committed sexual assault and would frequently show up to work drunk. "The fact that, earlier in his life when he was a young, recent combat veteran who came home and dealt with the demons by drinking too much, you know, that's not uncommon. A lot of us went through that, I went through that. And a lot of us, like Pete, have overcome that."
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Parlatore emphasized that "that which drove him to drink isn't driving him anymore."
The attorney then emphasized that Hegseth did not have "alcoholism in the classic, clinical sense" but rather "went through a period in his life where he drank too much."
Brown, however, countered that internal memos written by insiders at Concerned Veterans for America, where Hegseth once worked, detailed regular instances of public drunkenness.
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