The FBI did not interview several key women from President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense Pete Hegseth’s past, including his two ex-wives and the woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her in California in 2017, according to a person with knowledge of the FBI’s report on Hegseth that was briefed to the Senate Armed Services Committee leadership this week.
It is not clear whether the FBI did not reach out to the women or if they declined to be interviewed as part of the background probe into Hegseth’s past. It is not required to cooperate with an FBI background investigation.
But the women could have provided more insight into aspects of Hegseth’s life that Senate Democrats have expressed interest in, including Hegseth’s documented history of infidelity and allegations of alcohol abuse.
The FBI did interview others from Hegseth’s past, including some of his former Fox News colleagues and some of his superiors from when he served in the National Guard, the person familiar with the report said.
Hegseth has denied all allegations.
Overall, the report offered no real surprises and was largely consistent with what has been reported about Hegseth’s past, the person said.
The report was initially briefed by Trump transition officials to the Senate Armed Services chair and ranking member only, in keeping with past practice of only briefing SASC leadership. But ranking member Sen. Jack Reed briefed it to a wider array of Senate Democrats on Monday night.
