NBC News dropped a last-minute hit piece aimed at tanking Pete Hegseth’s defense secretary nomination on Tuesday — and it’s even dumber and more vapid than you’d expect.
In their pathetic excuse for “journalism,” authors Julie Tsirkin, Sarah Fitzpatrick, and Courtney Kube detail an affidavit that senators reportedly received on Tuesday from Danielle Hegseth, Pete’s former sister-in-law. According to these so-called “reporters,” Danielle — whom Hegseth’s attorney maintains is an “anti-Trump far left Democrat” — alleged that Hegseth engaged in “behavior [that] caused his second wife to fear for her safety.”
“Danielle describes in the affidavit allegations of volatile and threatening conduct by Hegseth that made his second wife, Samantha Hegseth, fear for her safety,” the report reads.
Hegseth’s nomination was advanced by the Senate Armed Services Committee on Monday and could potentially be considered by the full Senate later this week. The vote came a week after Hegseth’s confirmation hearing before the committee, which earned him support from numerous on-the-fence Republicans.
Danielle’s claims certainly sound damning — that is, until you start reading the rest of NBC’s hatchet job.
Not until the article’s ninth paragraph are readers provided Samantha’s response to Danielle’s unsubstantiated allegations. While maintaining that she has never “asked anyone to share or speak about the details of [her] marriage [to Hegseth] on [her] behalf,” Samantha subsequently stated, “I do not believe your information to be accurate, and I have cc’d my lawyer.”
“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,” Samantha said when pressed by the outlet about what information wasn’t accurate.
Got that? The woman whom NBC reported as having been the purported victim of alleged “volatile and threatening conduct” by Hegseth is saying the allegations aren’t true.
If that wasn’t damning enough, the authors admitted several paragraphs later that “[b]oth Pete Hegseth and Samantha Hegseth signed a 2021 court document that said neither parent claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse.”
So, why was this incredibly relevant information buried deep in the article after remarks from a Democrat senator opposed to Hegseth’s nomination? And why is this entire debacle even a story?
The answer to those questions rests in the fact that — contrary to its name — NBC News is not a “news” organization. It’s a leftist propaganda machine whose sole purpose is to advance the Democrat Party agenda by engaging in lies, deception, and slander.
In the same vein, Tsirkin, Fitzpatrick, and Kube aren’t real journalists. They’re left-wing political activists trying ever so hard to deceive Americans into believing they’re modern-day versions of Mary Richards. But unlike the fictional character, they have no sense of decorum or decency to spare.
This latest hit piece holds the same purpose as those that have come before it: to sink Hegseth’s confirmation and prevent a reformer from leading the Pentagon.
Republicans have an obligation to reject these disgusting tactics and support Hegseth’s nomination. Those who give credence to the legacy media smear machine are a disgrace and simply undeserving of public office.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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