Pete Hegseth’s mother calls out his ‘lack of character’, ‘abusive behaviour’ against women in bombshell email

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s Secretary Defence Pick, has suffered another setback with the revelation of a bombshell email, in which his mother launched a blistering attack on his character.

Pete Hegseth’s divorce from his ex-wife, Samantha, took ten months to wind up between 2017 and 2018.(AP)

According to a startling email obtained by New York Times, Penelope Hegseth, 70, claimed that his son, a Fox News commentator and former National Guard officer, had been mistreating women for years. The email from 2018 followed his acrimonious divorce from Samantha, his second wife and the mom of three of his kids.

“On behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way, I say… get some help and take an honest look at yourself,” Penelope wrote on April 30, 2018.

“I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego,” she continued.

Calling it a “sad truth”, she told him that “you are that man (and have been for years)”, stressing that “it pains me and embarrasses me to say that” as his mother.

Hegseth’s mother calls out her son’s abusive behavior

In addition, Hegseth’s mother denounced his behavior towards Samantha during their rancorous divorce, mentioning: “For you to try to label her as ‘unstable’ for your own advantage is despicable and abusive. Is there any sense of decency left in you?”

Hegseth’s divorce from Samantha took ten months to wind up between 2017 and 2018. He had an affair with his coworker at Fox News, Jennfier Rauchet, in 2016, leading to the birth of an unwed child. The duo got married in 2019.

However, Penelope confronted Hegseth about his treatment of his ex-wife and other women in a long email she sent him three months prior to the finalisation of his divorce from Samantha.

She hailed Samantha as “a good mother and a good person,” stressing that she “did not ask for or deserve any of what has come to her by your hand.”

“Neither did Meredith,” she said, in reference to her son’s first wife.

Penelope further stated, “We are on the side of good and that is not you,” but the Times did not clarify that who she referred to as “we” besides herself.

Penelope commented, “It’s time for someone (I wish it’s a strong man) to stand your abusive behavior and call it out, especially against women.”

While reminding her son that “we still love you”, she lamented that they are shattered by his “behavior and lack of character”.

She described his actions as “dishonesty, sleeping around, betrayal, debasing [and] belittling.”

Penelope also advised him not to respond, assuming he would “twist and abuse everything I say anyway.”

Also Read: Trump transition team ‘quietly’ searching for possible Pete Hegseth replacement as he ‘wasn’t honest’ about past

Penelope Hegseth speaks out after letter revelation

Penelope Hegseth spoke with the Times on Friday to take a U-turn about the letter, stating that she regrets sending the email.

She said that it’s “disgusting” that the email made public. “It is not true. It has never been true. I know my son. He is a good father, husband.”

Meanwhile, Steven Cheung, Trump communications director, told the Daily Beast: “The New York Times is 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. In subsequent emails, Mrs. Hegseth expressed regret for her emotional message and apologized.”

One woman accused 44-year-old Hegseth of rape after they met at a Republican conference in Monterey, California. However, no charges were filed against him and he paid the accuser as part of a settlement deal to buy her silence.