{"id":132829,"date":"2024-12-03T12:46:57","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T05:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=132829"},"modified":"2024-12-03T12:46:57","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T05:46:57","slug":"after-pete-hegseth-meeting-republican-senators-brush-aside-misconduct-allegations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=132829","title":{"rendered":"After Pete Hegseth meeting, Republican senators brush aside misconduct allegations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"\">Republican senators who met Monday with Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s pick for defense secretary, brushed aside sexual assault and other allegations against him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., called the allegations a \u201cside issue\u201d while lauding Hegseth\u2019s ability to lead the Defense Department.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cAgain, they\u2019re throwing disparaging remarks at someone who has earned a great deal of credibility. Are soldiers sometimes wild childs? Yeah, that can happen,\u201d Lummis said when she was asked whether the allegations concern her, \u201cbut it is very clear that this guy is the guy who, at a time when Americans are losing confidence in their own military, in our ability to project strength around the world, that Pete Hegseth is the answer to that concern.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Around 10 to 12 senators on the Republican Steering Committee, a group of conservative senators led by Mike Lee, of Utah, met with Hegseth behind closed doors in the Capitol for less than an hour Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Hegseth, an Army National Guard veteran and former Fox News host, has faced several misconduct allegations since he was named as Trump&#8217;s pick to lead the Defense Department (he has denied any wrongdoing). Most recently, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/news-desk\/pete-hegseths-secret-history\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New Yorker<\/a> article published Sunday revealed the contents of a previously undisclosed 2015 whistleblower report from a veterans&#8217; organization Hegseth ran, which claimed he was repeatedly intoxicated on the job. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\">NBC News has not independently verified the report. Hegseth\u2019s attorney declined to comment. In a statement to The New Yorker, an adviser said that the claims were \u201coutlandish\u201d and that they came from a \u201cpetty and jealous disgruntled former associate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The Trump transition team referred NBC News to a previous statement in support of Hegseth. Hegseth did not respond to shouted questions from NBC News about the New Yorker article and other allegations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Senators offered their full-throated support to Hegseth after the meeting, downplaying the accusations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cI\u2019ve known Pete for a while, so in my experience with him has always been positive. I think he\u2019s clearly committed to making sure we have a lethal military that scares the crap out of our enemies, is respected by our allies and is somebody that our allies can rely on,\u201d said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Lee did not say whether the senators had discussed any of the allegations with Hegseth, saying they discussed his vision for the Pentagon.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the media was \u201cobsessed\u201d with personal allegations against Hegseth and told reporters that each Cabinet nominee will be subject to a background check but potentially not from the FBI \u2014 a new point of contention among lawmakers, as some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/politics-news\/bill-hagerty-background-checks-trump-cabinet-rcna181557\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Republicans say<\/a> the FBI should not be in charge of carrying out the background checks, breaking with the usual practice.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">A woman told police that Hegseth sexually assaulted her in 2017 after a Republican women\u2019s convention in California, according to official\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/25362284-hegseth-police-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">records of a police investigation<\/a>\u00a0released last month. Hegseth has denied the accusations and was not charged. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/politics-news\/trump-defense-pick-pete-hegseth-denies-sexual-assault-allegation-rcna180535\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">He acknowledged<\/a> having paid his accuser an undisclosed amount as part of a settlement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Last week,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/11\/29\/us\/politics\/pete-hegseth-mother-email.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> The New York Times reported<\/a> that Hegseth\u2019s mother sent him an email calling him an \u201cabuser of women\u201d amid his contentious divorce in 2018. She told the Times later that she regretted the email, which NBC News has not obtained.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Hegseth\u2019s lawyer declined to provide a statement but passed along a statement from the Trump transition team that said: \u201cIt is shameful but not surprising that the NYT is publishing a story about one out of context snippet from an illegally obtained private conversation between a mother and her son. The entire purpose of this exercise is to malign Mr.\u00a0Hegseth.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Speaking to reporters Monday after the meeting with Hegseth, Cruz referred to the New York Times story as \u201cshameful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Senators also cited Hegseth\u2019s ability to raise retention and recruitment levels in the military among young men and women, despite his having previously suggested that women should not serve. Asked about those comments, Lummis said they do not concern her.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cI think when he gets some fighter pilots that are women, that are, you know, the best of the best, he might, he might think twice about that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">In a podcast interview last month, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/donald-trump\/pete-hegseth-trump-pick-pentagon-rcna180011\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hegseth said<\/a> women should not be allowed to fight on the front lines, claiming their presence has made fighting \u201cmore complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cI\u2019m straight up just saying that we should not have women in combat roles,\u201d Hegseth said on \u201cThe Shawn Ryan Show\u201d podcast last month.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/national-security\/pete-hegseths-remarks-women-combat-are-met-disgust-dissent-rcna180136\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> His remarks drew swift backlash<\/a> from female veterans and service members.<\/p>\n<p class=\"endmark\">The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Republican senators&#8217; remarks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/congress\/pete-hegseth-meeting-republican-senators-brush-misconduct-allegations-rcna182569\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republican senators who met Monday with Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s pick for defense secretary, brushed aside sexual assault and other allegations against him. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., called the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=132829\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8629],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-u-s","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=132829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132829\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=132829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=132829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=132829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}