“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,” Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told NBC in a statement. Reed wrote a letter to Danielle on January 18 asking her to share the affidavit on her allegations. “I have been concerned that the background check process has been inadequate, and this sworn affidavit [from Danielle] confirms that fact.”
Despite all this, Republicans scrambled on Tuesday night to get a vote scheduled for Hegseth, with every GOP senator voting to continue. “The nomination is going to go forward,” Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who chairs the Armed Services Committee, told reporters. He admitted he had not reviewed the affidavit but had “grave doubts as to the substance” of the document he admitted to not reading. Wicker claimed Hegseth’s ex-wife simply “has an ax to grind,” and vowed to work through the weekend to get Hegseth approved if needed, per the New York Times. Majority Leader Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) filed a motion on Tuesday to end debate on Hegseth, meaning his confirmation vote could take place on Friday or Saturday morning.
In her affidavit, Danielle said the details she shared came from what Samantha had told her about her marriage at the time. “I trust what Samantha told me… most critically because it was consistent with what I personally observed of Hegseth’s erratic and aggressive behavior over many years,” Danielle wrote. Samantha and Hegseth were married from 2010 to 2017; during their acrimonious divorce, reportedly caused by infidelity, Hegseth’s own mother called him “an abuser of women” in a scathing email taking Samantha’s side. “I have been assured that making this public statement will ensure that certain senators who are still on the fence will vote against Hegseth’s confirmation,” Danielle wrote.
She further recounts in her affidavit that Hegseth made disparaging comments about people of color and espoused Great Replacement-esque theories (shocker!). He reportedly had to be dragged drunk out of strip clubs on different occasions from 2009 to 2013, at least once wearing his military uniform. This is also not shocking since Hegseth had to promise at least one GOP senator that he’d quit drinking if confirmed.
In an email to NBC News, Samantha denied that Hegseth was physically violent toward her, pointing to court documents she signed as part of her divorce stating that she was not a victim of domestic abuse, and declined to comment further. Meanwhile, an attorney for Hegseth denied the allegations made by Danielle in a lengthy statement to the outlet, accusing Danielle of having “an axe to grind against the entire Hegseth family” after her divorce from Hegseth’s brother.
Hegseth also stands accused of raping a woman in his hotel room in 2017; the rape was reported to police by a nurse who treated the unnamed woman. His history of misogyny is pretty well-documented, too—he’s called for women to be “straight up” banned from combat roles in the military; he reportedly fostered sexist work environments at previous places of employment and sought relationships with female employees; and he’s yet to apologize for publishing an op-ed in college that said assaulting unconscious women isn’t rape. Over the last several weeks, extensive reports have accused Hegseth of a very serious alcohol abuse problem, in which he’d show up to work drunk and order three gin and tonics at weekday breakfasts.
Hegseth and his Republican defenders have tried to dismiss these claims about him as anonymous smears, but what they’re really doing is capitalizing on widespread media illiteracy and ignorance about how supposedly anonymous allegations work. Media outlets rigorously vet these sources, and, as Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) pointed out last week during Hegseth’s hearing, so do government agencies and elected officials who hear their allegations. Danielle’s allegations against Hegseth aren’t even anonymous—they come from a woman who held a familial relationship with Hegseth for years, observed his behavior, and was concerned for Hegseth’s wife’s safety.
That Senate Republicans are (once again) ignoring every red flag—or, more likely, embracing these red flags to flex their power and immunity—is to be expected in the Trump era. But Senate Democrats—and all of us, really—fought back when they tried to do this with Kavanaugh, and we should do the same now.
