New York Times: Pete Hegseth’s mother wrote him an email in 2018 accusing him of mistreating women

NEW YORK (CNN) — The mother of Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense, sent an email to her son in 2018 that sharply criticized his treatment of women, The New York Times reported Friday.

Penelope Hegseth told her son in the email that there are “many” women whom he has “abused in some way” and encouraged him to “get some help,” according to the email published by The Times.

The email’s partial publication comes as Pete Hegseth, a veteran and Fox News host with no prior government experience, is expected to face a tough Senate confirmation process, including questions about a sexual assault allegation from October 2017. No charges were filed against Hegseth related to the incident, and he has denied the accusation, claiming the sexual encounter was consensual.

According to The Times’ report, Penelope Hegseth wrote, “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.”

Penelope Hegseth on Friday told The New York Times that she wrote the email “in anger, with emotion” and that she had immediately apologized in a separate email. She went on to defend her son, saying her own characterization of his treatment of women in the 2018 email “has never been true.”

CNN has reached out to Penelope Hegseth for comment. An attorney for Pete Hegseth declined to comment.

Penelope Hegseth sent the email to her son on April 30, 2018, according to The Times’ report — around six months after the alleged assault. The email was sent in connection with her son’s divorce from his second wife, The Times reported.

Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director, said in a statement shared with CNN on Saturday that Penelope Hegseth’s email is “an out-of-context snippet.”

“The New York Times and other outlets are 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,” Cheung said. “In subsequent emails, Mrs. Hegseth expressed regret for her emotional message and apologized.”

CNN has previously reported that a woman accused Pete Hegseth of sexually assaulting her in the early morning hours of October 8, 2017, in Monterey, California, where Hegseth had a speaking engagement the night before. The accuser told police that Hegseth physically blocked her from leaving a hotel room, took her phone and then sexually assaulted her.

Years later, Hegseth paid the accuser in a settlement agreement that included a confidentiality clause, his attorney Timothy Parlatore told CNN in a statement earlier this month. Parlatore said Hegseth settled because it was during the “Me Too” movement and he didn’t want to lose his job at Fox News if the accusation became public. The statement did not share how much the accuser was paid as part of the settlement, although Parlatore said it was “a significantly reduced amount.”

After the allegation surfaced earlier this month, Hegseth told Republicans on a prayer call that “the battle is just beginning” as he faces skepticism around his confirmation.

During the call, Hegseth said that his family has received “an outpouring of support” since Trump announced the pick, adding: “That’s the reason why we can endure the attacks and the onslaughts.”

Trump’s allies have defended Hegseth, with Sen. Markwayne Mullin — who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, which would hold confirmation hearings for Hegseth — telling CNN’s Dana Bash that he “absolutely” believes Hegseth’s side of the story and that the allegation “doesn’t prevent Pete from going forward with this.” Mullin underscored that Hegseth was not charged with any wrongdoing and said that the police report on the incident supports Hegseth’s version of the encounter on October 8.

CNN’s Alayna Treene, Kaitlan Collins, Casey Tolan, Scott Glover and Sara Murray contributed to this report.

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