Pete Hegseth appears to be on the verge of confirmation as secretary of defense, but Democrats are gearing up for a fierce battle to block it. If you thought the Democrats’ smear tactics against Justice Brett Kavanaugh were a thing of the past, think again; they’re dusting off the same old playbook to derail Hegseth’s nomination.
On Tuesday, senators received an affidavit from Hegseth’s former sister-in-law, alleging behavior that purportedly made his second wife fear for her safety.
The former sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, submitted the affidavit in response to a Jan. 18 letter from Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., seeking “a statement attesting to your personal knowledge about Mr. Hegseth’s fitness to occupy this important position.”
Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, asked Danielle Hegseth to detail what she knew of “instances of abuse, or threats of abuse, perpetrated against any other person” and “mistreatment of a spouse, former spouse, or other members of his family,” among other requests.
Reed said in a statement Tuesday, “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."
There’s just one rather big problem with this former sister-in-law’s accusations: Hegseth’s ex-wife says they’re not true.
Samantha Deering, Hegseth’s ex-wife, told NBC News, which first reported on the accusations, that the allegations were false.
“First and foremost, I have not and will not comment on my marriage to Pete Hegseth. I do not have representatives speaking on my behalf, nor have I ever asked anyone to share or speak about the details of my marriage on my behalf, whether it be a reporter, a committee member, a transition team member, etc.,” she wrote.
“I do not believe your information to be accurate, and I have cc’d my lawyer,” she added.
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In response to a follow-up from NBC News to clarify, she 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.”
One of Pete Hegseth’s lawyers also dismissed the allegations.
"Sam has never alleged that there was any abuse, she signed court documents acknowledging that there was no abuse and recently reaffirmed the same during her FBI interview. Belated claims by Danielle Dietrich, an anti-Trump far-left Democrat who is divorced from Mr. Hegseth’s brother and never got along with the Hegseth family, do nothing to change that," he told NBC News
"After an acrimonious divorce, Ms. Dietrich has had an axe to grind against the entire Hegseth family," he added. "Ms. Dietrich admits that she saw nothing but is now falsely accusing Sam of lying to both the Court and to the FBI because of private, undocumented statements that she allegedly made 10 years ago."
This is what the left does; it will resort to the sleaziest tactics to get what it wants, and it doesn't care if it destroys someone's reputation with false accusations.
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