In a stunningly weird turn in the Peter Hegseth road to confirmation, The New York Times unearthed a copy of a dark email that Hegseth’s mother, Penelope Hegseth, sent him in 2018 when Hegseth was in the midst of a divorce with his second wife, Samantha. It is very safe to say that something enraged Penelope at the time. The email’s accusations are heartbreaking and yet also feel raw and real. It is debatable as to whether this email should have been published because it is so personal – between mother and son – but it does inform the public as to the veracity of the sexual assault allegations that flow from a 2017 incident.
According to The New York Times, Penelope Hegseth sent the following on April 30, 2018, during a turbulent period in his life:
“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 Hegseth wrote, stating that she still loved him.
She also 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.”
Okay, now Hegseth’s mother is on the record as saying (Speaking just this last week) that she had fired off the original email “in anger, with emotion” and it all happened during some of the most difficult periods all of them might go through during a muddy divorce. Take out the media coverage and one is left with a sad but fairly average situation: Hegseth’s mom sympathized with her step-daughter and mother of her grandkids – the woman who had to stay strong for everyone and move on. Mom was less patient with her son – situation normal. Especially when sex with other women complicates matters, to be damned sure.
In nearly every situation, the email and the accusations within would be entirely irrelevant and the bigger issue would be why The New York Times would ever publish such an intimate conversation. But given the alleged sexual assault and the fact that Hegseth has very strong beliefs about the role of women in the military, the Times did believe that his mother’s 2018 assessment was relevant.
It will all come down to what the U.S. Senate finds important regarding Hegseth’s past and they likely won’t be looking at Penelope’s email in making the decision. They will definitely care about the fact that Hegseth has had affair after affair, including one that produced a child out of wedlock, and other behaviors that can then be held against him as blackmail or manipulation. It is also possible that Hegseth’s treatment of women throughout his life informs the Senate regarding his views on the role of women in the military generally. We don’t know exactly what the Senate will focus on. The only certainty is – as I have written before, the police report in the sexual assault allegation is 100% definitive and disqualifying.
We don’t know if Democrats will focus more on Hegseth’s personal issues as disqualifying to his nomination, or the fact that he doesn’t have the requisite experience to be Secretary of Defense. The email above likely won’t come up. But there is little doubt that some people will come down to the same beliefs shared by Hegseth’s mother.
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I would rather the Senate deny Hegseth a government position because he has not earned one. He isn’t even qualified to be on a weekend morning zoo, but I am not a FauxNews viewer so I don’t care about that. Hegseth’s horrific misogyny is now known by a wider audience, but if we argue that point in a hearing, he will become another “victim” of the moralizing “libs” rather than an unqualified, unprepared man. We have been here before and have let this become a forum where the women are the ones who are attacked and forgotten. Disqualify Hegseth on his job deficiencies first and only then add the personal smarminess that makes him an easily compromised foreign asset and security risk!
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P.S. There is nothing humorous about this process, but these days, Jason, I take my laughs where I can find them so…”Hegseth’s Mother” is my new favorite band name! 🤣
No one will care. He will be confirmed, experience or not. The goal is to tear down the government. He has stated in books that the US military should be used against democrats and libs. That’ll be enough to get him confirmed. That’s not even the worst of what he has written.
If MAGA apologists haven’t said it already, we will be told that Hegseth “can’t” be blackmailed because his sordid history of adultery and sexual assault has already been exposed. That will be the go-to excuse for any appointee with a similar past.