Multiple media outlets on Wednesday ran a story about allegations against President Donald Trump’s defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth, even though they were denied by the alleged victim herself.
NBC, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and others, all ran a story about Hegseth’s former sister-in-law claiming he abused Hegseth’s ex-wife. Headlines from the outlets and social media posts all run with the narrative without explaining up front that Hegseth’s ex-wife – the alleged victim – said these allegations weren’t true.
NBC was the first to report the claims and included the ex-wife’s denial in the subheadline, but it isn’t until the eleventh paragraph that this denial is mentioned and explained in full context.
The allegations come from Danielle Dietrich, who was married to Hegseth’s brother. Hegseth’s lawyer, Tim Parlatore, told NBC that Hegseth’s ex-wife, Samantha, “has never alleged that there was any abuse, she signed court documents acknowledging that there was no abuse and recently reaffirmed the same during her FBI interview.”
“Belated claims by Danielle Dietrich, an anti-Trump far left Democrat who is divorced from Mr. Hegseth’s brother and never got along with the Hegseth family, do nothing to change that,” he added.
Samantha herself told the outlet they had inaccurate information and copied her attorney on the email response. When NBC asked what wasn’t accurate, she said: “There was no physical abuse in my marriage. This is the only further statement I will make to you, I have let you know that I am not speaking and will not speak on my marriage to Pete. Please respect this decision.”
This information was not front-and-center for NBC or other outlets’ reporting but buried paragraphs into the stories.
“After an acrimonious divorce, Ms. Dietrich has had an axe to grind against the entire Hegseth family,” Parlatore said. “Ms. Dietrich admits that she saw nothing but is now falsely accusing Sam of lying to both the Court and to the FBI because of private, undocumented statements that she allegedly made 10 years ago.”
Dietrich only came forward after Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) reached out to her and asked for “a statement attesting to your personal knowledge about Mr. Hegseth’s fitness to occupy this important position.” Reed also asked Dietrich specifically to discuss any “instances of abuse, or threats of abuse, perpetrated against any other person” and “mistreatment of a spouse, former spouse, or other members of his family.”
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So, Reed went looking for dirt from a Democrat against a Republican and received what he wanted.
News outlets used the same tactic in reporting this story as they did when they began covering the Russiagate hoax in 2017. They didn’t run the story, knowing it wasn’t credible, until they learned that Trump had been briefed on ridiculous claims. After that, they treated the story as fact and gave themselves Pulitzer Prizes for their coverage, even though it was bogus.
This is also the latest attempt to smear Hegseth after previous attempts failed. NBC also tried and failed previously to torch Hegseth’s nomination by running a hit piece using anonymous sources claiming Hegseth drank during work. Numerous Fox News colleagues went on the record to deny the claims, yet Democrat Senators ignored the obvious flaws in the story to attack Hegseth during his confirmation hearing.
Media outlets also used flimsy allegations to target Hegseth earlier, claiming he sexually assaulted a woman when it was clear the woman cheated on her husband with Hegseth and regretted their encounter, trying to paint herself as a victim instead of owning up to her adultery.
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[[{“value”:”
Multiple media outlets on Wednesday ran a story about allegations against President Donald Trump’s defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth, even though they were denied by the alleged victim herself.
NBC, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and others, all ran a story about Hegseth’s former sister-in-law claiming he abused Hegseth’s ex-wife. Headlines from the outlets and social media posts all run with the narrative without explaining up front that Hegseth’s ex-wife – the alleged victim – said these allegations weren’t true.
NBC was the first to report the claims and included the ex-wife’s denial in the subheadline, but it isn’t until the eleventh paragraph that this denial is mentioned and explained in full context.
The allegations come from Danielle Dietrich, who was married to Hegseth’s brother. Hegseth’s lawyer, Tim Parlatore, told NBC that Hegseth’s ex-wife, Samantha, “has never alleged that there was any abuse, she signed court documents acknowledging that there was no abuse and recently reaffirmed the same during her FBI interview.”
“Belated claims by Danielle Dietrich, an anti-Trump far left Democrat who is divorced from Mr. Hegseth’s brother and never got along with the Hegseth family, do nothing to change that,” he added.
Samantha herself told the outlet they had inaccurate information and copied her attorney on the email response. When NBC asked what wasn’t accurate, she said: “There was no physical abuse in my marriage. This is the only further statement I will make to you, I have let you know that I am not speaking and will not speak on my marriage to Pete. Please respect this decision.”
This information was not front-and-center for NBC or other outlets’ reporting but buried paragraphs into the stories.
“After an acrimonious divorce, Ms. Dietrich has had an axe to grind against the entire Hegseth family,” Parlatore said. “Ms. Dietrich admits that she saw nothing but is now falsely accusing Sam of lying to both the Court and to the FBI because of private, undocumented statements that she allegedly made 10 years ago.”
Dietrich only came forward after Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) reached out to her and asked for “a statement attesting to your personal knowledge about Mr. Hegseth’s fitness to occupy this important position.” Reed also asked Dietrich specifically to discuss any “instances of abuse, or threats of abuse, perpetrated against any other person” and “mistreatment of a spouse, former spouse, or other members of his family.”
CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT
So, Reed went looking for dirt from a Democrat against a Republican and received what he wanted.
News outlets used the same tactic in reporting this story as they did when they began covering the Russiagate hoax in 2017. They didn’t run the story, knowing it wasn’t credible, until they learned that Trump had been briefed on ridiculous claims. After that, they treated the story as fact and gave themselves Pulitzer Prizes for their coverage, even though it was bogus.
This is also the latest attempt to smear Hegseth after previous attempts failed. NBC also tried and failed previously to torch Hegseth’s nomination by running a hit piece using anonymous sources claiming Hegseth drank during work. Numerous Fox News colleagues went on the record to deny the claims, yet Democrat Senators ignored the obvious flaws in the story to attack Hegseth during his confirmation hearing.
Media outlets also used flimsy allegations to target Hegseth earlier, claiming he sexually assaulted a woman when it was clear the woman cheated on her husband with Hegseth and regretted their encounter, trying to paint herself as a victim instead of owning up to her adultery.
“}]]
