take a listen to this moment. >> a memorial day 2014 at a cva event in virginia. you needed to be carried out of the event for being intoxicated. >> senator. >> anonymous smears. just true or false? very simple. summer of 2014. in cleveland. drunk in public with the cva team. >> anonymous smears. >> i'm just asking for true or false questions. true or false answers. an event in north carolina drunk in front of three young female staff members. after you had instituted a no alcohol policy and then reversed it. true or false? >> anonymous smears back and forth. >> except he brought up. >> so obviously he sat there refusing to engage with the structure of mark kelly's questions. but it is those questions that i think could leave a bad taste in the mouth of some republican lawmakers. but if you're looking for a cue from this hearing, look no further than joni ernst, who had been publicly skeptical of pete hegseth before this hearing, had two private meetings with him. her questions were largely friendly, and she introduced into the record a letter supportive of hegset

a memorial day 2014 at a cva event in virginia.carried out of the event for being intoxicated. >> senator. anonymous smears. >> just true or false? very simple. summer of 2014, in cleveland. drunk in public with the cva team. >> anonymous smears. >> i'm just asking for true or false questions. true or false answers. an event in north carolina drunk in front of three young female staff members. after you had instituted a no alcohol policy and then reversed it. true or false? >> anonymous smears. >> he could have said false, but his lawyer no doubt told him that lying to the committee is against the law. >> december of 2014 at the cva christmas party at the grand hyatt at washington, d.c, you were noticeably intoxicated and had to be carried up to your room. is that true or false? >> anonymous smears. >> another time, a cva staffer stated that you passed out in the back of a party bus. is that true or false? >> anonymous smears. >> joining our discussion now is democratic senator mark kelly of arizona, a member of the senate armed se

on memorial day 2014, at a cva event in virginia, you needed to be carried out of the event for beinged. >> senator, anonymous smears. >> true -- just true or false? very simple. summer of 2014, in cleveland, drunk in public with the cva team. >> anonymous smears. >> i'm just asking for true or false questions -- true or false answers. an event in north carolina, drunk in front of three young female staff members after you had instituted a no alcohol policy and then reversed it. true or false? >> anonymous smears. >> december of 2014, at the cva christmas party at the grand hyatt at washington d.c., you were nototiceably toxicated and had to be carried up to your room. is that true or false? >> anonymous smears. >> another time, a cva staffer stated that you passed out in the back of a party bus. is that true or false? >> anonymous smears. >> seth: well, at least we know he's sober for this, because anonymous smears is very hard to say when you're drunk. [ laughter ] next time one of your friends insist they're fine to drive, make them say "anonymous smears," they'll just hand you the

kassan spero, digital media director of cva from 2015 to 2017, stated pete brought incredible energy, focus and a clear vision to the organization and showed everything that the team accomplished together and i am similarly asked to submit to the record a letter from paul j. >> roberts, retired colonel, u.s. army special forces, speaking to the unwavering integrity of mr. hegseth. uh, is there um is there objection? without objection, those three will be admitted. senator scott. all right. >> first, congratulations on your nomination. >> thank you, senator, and thank you for being willing to serve our nation. >> um, i served in the navy. i'm really proud of my dad. he was crazy. he did all four combat jumps with the 82nd airborne. he after that, survived all that and fought in the battle of the bulge. and what they went through, it was hell. um, so i have a lot of respect for him and for everybody that puts on the uniform and serves in battle and has to lead people in battle because it, um, uh, being on a ship, that didn't happen to me, but i had a lot of friends that happened to in m

a memorial day 2014 at a cva event in virginia. you needed to be carried out of the event for being intoxicated. >> senator. anonymous smears. >> just true or false? very simple. summer of 2014. in cleveland. drunk in public with the cva team. >> anonymous smears. >> i'm just asking for true or false questions. true or false answers. an event in north carolina drunk in front of three young female staff members. after you had instituted a no alcohol policy and then reversed it. true or false? anonymous smears december of 2014 at the cva christmas party at the grand hyatt at washington, d.c, you were noticeably intoxicated and had to be carried up to your room. is that true or false? >> anonymous smears. >> another time, a cva staffer stated that you passed out in the back of a party bus. is that true or false? >> anonymous smears. >> in 2014, while in louisiana on official business for cva, did you take your staff, including young female staff members, to a strip club? >> absolutely not. anonymous smears. >> let me ask you if i have

summer 2014 in cleveland, drunk in public with the cva team. november 2014 get out the vote in north carolina, hegseth got drunk with female staff members. cva had newted a no alcohol policy at its events in october. this was one month later. but mr. hegseth and another manager lifted the policy. december 2014 at the cva christmas party at the grand hyatt in this city, washington, d.c., hegseth was noticeably intoxicated and had to be carried up to his room. another time a cva staffer stated that hegseth passed out in the back of a party bus. on may 29, 2015, a now former cva employee sent a complaint letter to management that hegseth was chanting -- this is a quote, his quote -- kill all muslims at a bar in cuyahoga falls, ohio, in a drunk and violent manner. while at fox news, october 2017, following his dinner speech at the california federation of republican women's 40th biennial convention in monterey, california, hegseth was reportedly engaged in a loud argument by the pool and was very intoxicated. fox news employees have reported that a

. >> a memorial day 2014 at a cva event in virginia. you needed to be carried out of the event for being intoxicated. senator anonymous smears just true or false? very simple. summer of 2014. in cleveland. drunk in public with the cva team. >> anonymous smears. >> i'm just asking for true or false questions. true or false answers. an event in north carolina drunk in front of three young female staff members. after you had instituted a no alcohol policy and then reversed it. true or false? >> anonymous smears. >> the senate armed services committee is set to vote later today on whether to advance his nomination to the full senate, where he can only lose three republican votes, assuming all democrats vote against him. the justice department released a report from former special counsel jack smith, where smith says the justice department would have had enough evidence to convict president elect trump if he had not been elected president. in the report, smith said his team, quote, stood up for the rule of law, and he defended his decision t

a memorial day 2014 at a cva. >> event in. >> virginia.ded to be carried. >> out of the event for. >> being intoxicated. senator. >> anonymous smears. >> we're going to. >> stop just for a minute. >> because the allegations are. >> just not accurate. they're far more than anonymous. >> smears. according to the new yorker. >> that specific scenario. >> that. >> specific incident, was detailed in a quote seven. page report. >> which was. compiled by multiple. former cva. >> employees and sent to the organization's senior management. >> in february. >> of 2015. nbc news has not seen. >> this report, but. >> according to the. >> new yorker. it says that, quote, at. >> one such cva event in virginia beach on memorial day weekend in 2014. >> hegseth was, quote, totally. sloshed and needed to be carried. >> to his room because he was so intoxicated. let's keep going. >> an event in north carolina drunk in front of three young female staff members. >> after you had. >> instituted a no alcohol policy and. then reversed it. true or false? anonymous

in cleveland. >> drunk in public with the cva team.s. >> i'm just asking for true or false questions. >> true or false answers. >> an event in north carolina drunk in front of three young female staff members. >> after you had instituted a no alcohol policy and then reversed it. >> true or false? anonymous smears. >> okay, so, alison, putting aside the fact that under oath, he was not able to just say no, no. >> not true. >> didn't happen. >> sort of reverted to this. >> he wasn't even under oath. that's the crazy part. >> that's it. okay. thank you. symone. >> so help me understand how a person who has coming into this with this baggage is supposed to lead an organization with the largest budget of any us agency. >> i mean, listen, we should all be concerned about the character of the next secretary of defense. i also think some individuals can evolve from the person who they were, you know, before in some aspects. but as i noted earlier, i think a lot of honestly, the background of pete hegseth is a distraction. a lot of the drama th

. >> on memorial day 2014 at a cva event in virginia. you needed to be carried out of the event for being intoxicated, senator. anonymous smears just true or false? very simple. summer of 2014, in cleveland, drunk in public with the cva team. >> anonymous smears. >> i'm just asking for true or false questions. true or false answers. an event in north carolina drunk in front of three young female staff members. after you had instituted a no alcohol policy and then reversed it. true or false? >> anonymous smears. >> hegseth also responded to questions about his character, including an alleged sexual assault. in october 2017. charges were never filed, but hegseth did pay his accuser an undisclosed sum in 2023 and had her sign an nda. virginia senator tim kaine asked him to explain how those allegations reflect on his character. >> you've admitted that it was consensual and you were still married, and you just had a child by another woman. again, how do you explain your judgment? >> false charges against me. you fully investigated, and i was

lucas says that pete hegseth laid a strong foundation that postured cva for long-term success and that mr. hegseth continued to be a valuable asset to both me as a leader and the organization. i would ask for unanimous consent to enter this washington times article and the letter from mr. mark lucas into the record. >> without objection. >> thank you, mr. chair. good morning mr. hegseth. thanks very much. i appreciate your service to our nation. it is something i know you are very proud of. and it is something with that we have in common and that we share. we have had many productive conversations. just for our audience, we have had very frank conversations, is that correct? mr. hegseth: that is a correct characterization. >> you know that i do not keep anything hidden. i pull no punches. my colleagues know that as well. i do appreciate you sitting down and allowing me the opportunity to question you thoroughly on those issues that are of great importance to me. just to recap those issues, three that are very important, one is the d.o.d. and making sure that we have a clean audit. the

. >> in 2014, in louisiana on business for cva, did you take your staff, including young female staff members, to a strip club. >> absolutely not, anonymous smears. >> is that accurate the organization reached a financial settlement with a female staffer who claimed to be at a strip club with you and there was a colleague who attempted to assault her? was there a financial sett settlement? >> i was not involved in that. i don't the nature of how that played out. >> but you understand there was a financial settlement for a staffer who accused another member of the organization, not you, hug sexual assault in a strip club? >> we have multiple statements on the record. >> you claim you were not there when that occurred. >> absolutely not. >> the behavior i cited, if t true, do you think this behavior of intoxication, going into these type of establishments, women on your staff being so uncomfortable they have to file the harassment claims, do you think this is appropriate behavior for a leader? >> the overwhelming majority of anyone who has worked for me, including on the record statemen

hegseth quote laid a strong foundation that postured cva for long term success, end quote. that mr. hegseth quote continued to be an invaluable asset to both me as a leader and the organization, end quote. so i would ask for unanimous consent to enter this washington times article and the letter from mr. mark lucas into the record. >> without objection. >> thank you, mr. chair. good morning, mr. hegseth and thank you very much. i appreciate your service to our nation, it is something that i know you are very proud of and it is something that we have in common and that we share. you have and i have had many productive conversations. and just for our audience, we have had very frank conversations, is that correct, mr. hegseth? >> that is a correct characterization. >> you know that i don't keep anything hidden, pull no punches, my colleagues know that as well. so i do appreciate you sitting down and allowing me the opportunity to question you thoroughly on those issues that are of great importance to me. just to recap those issues, three that are very important, one is the d.o.d. in m

in many mornings while working, while running cva. it was what we did at cva that was the inspiration for me. you'll find it's a called action that is exactly the called action that is the organization. it was always a pleasure to work with you to appreciate the work you continue to do from jay and bill and carolyn and sarah and and and will and sean, amber and emily, kevin, fred and even my brother phil who's in the front row. i want to thank all of you and, of course, it is with us early on kate, also an inspiration for me to write this book. she told me you got ready, , you need to write it and it took her advice and glad i did. kate, thanks for being here. i want to thank my very good college buddy matt hoopes two is here and is acknowledged as well in the book. this book would not happen without matt come with that in teaching me how to think and write and argue in college and pulling it back from the brink of some absurd things i put in the pages of publications. matt was a content editor of the princeton tory and for good reaso

hegseth, quote, laid a strong foundation that postured cva for long term success, end quote, and that mr. hegseth, quote, continued to be an invaluable asset to both me as a leader and the organization. end quote. so i would ask for unanimous consent to enter this washington times article and the letter from mr. mark lucas into the record. >> without objection. >> okay. thank you, mr. chair. good morning, mr. hegseth, and thank you very much. i appreciate your service to our nation. it's something that i know you are very proud of, and it is something that we have in common and that we share. you and i have had many productive conversations. and just for our audience, we have had very frank conversations. is that correct, mr. hegseth? >> senator, that is a correct characterization. >> you know that i don't keep any anything hidden. pull no punches. my colleagues know that as well. so i do appreciate you sitting down and allowing me the opportunity to question you thoroughly on those issues that are of great importance to me. just to recap those issues, three that are very important. o

the new yorker reported hegseth was forced out of the cva over allegations of financial mismanagementpropriety and personal misconduct. after the vote, the concerned veterans for america tweeted out this statement. it says the confirmation of pete hegseth as secretary of defense presents a real opportunity to prioritize the security and prosperity of our citizens and our champion prudence and our effectiveness and defense strategy. and focus our department of defense on our most vital interests. it's a statement you see on the screen. it says veterans and military families have borne the burden of our countries defense policies. the cva is committed to ensuring the future use of our armed forces is focused, principled and aligned with the values that have kept americans secure and free for almost 250 years. for the future of our country and the prosperity of the american people, we must modernize our military. we are excited to partner with pete hegseth to achieve those goals. just under 15 minutes left in the first hour, we will go to cindy in new jersey on the line for democrats. ca

the new yorker reported hegseth was forced out of the cva over allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety and personal misconduct. after the vote, the concerned veterans for america tweeted out this statement. it says the confirmation of pete hegseth as secretary of defense presents a real opportunity to prioritize the security and prosperity of our citizens and our champion prudence and our effectiveness and defense strategy. and focus our department of defense on our most vital interests. it's a statement you see on the screen. it says veterans and military families have borne the burden of our countries defense policies. the cva is committed to ensuring the future use of our armed forces is focused, principled and aligned with the values that have kept americans secure and free for almost 250 years. for the future of our country and the prosperity of the american people, we must modernize our military. we are excited to partner with pete hegseth to achieve those goals. just under 15 minutes left in the first hour, we will go to cindy in new jersey on the line for de

carson spero, digital media director of cva from 2015 to 2017, stated pete brought incredible energy, focus and a clear vision to the organization and showed everything that the team accomplished together and i similarly asked to submit to the record a letter from paul j. >> roberts, retired colonel, u.s army special forces. speaking to the unwavering integrity of mr. hegseth. is there is there objection? without objection, those three will be admitted. senator scott. all right. >> first, congratulations on your nomination. thank you, senator, and thank you for being willing to serve our nation. i served in the navy. i'm really proud of my dad. he was crazy. he did all four combat jumps with the 82nd airborne. he after that, survived all that and fought in the battle of the bulge. and what they went through, it was hell. so i have a lot of respect for him and for everybody that puts on the uniform and serves in battle and has to lead people in battle, because it being on a ship, that didn't happen to me, but i had a lot of friends that happened to in my it happened to my dad. i've ser

in 2014, while in louisiana on official business for cva, did you take your staff, including young femalestaff members, to a strip club? absolutely not. anonymous smears. >> out front. now, the senator that you just saw questioning hegseth democrat mark kelly of arizona, he sits on the armed services committee. of course, the center of this decision that is so crucial for this country whether pete hegseth will be the defense secretary for the united states, senator kelly pete hegseth, convince you to vote for him. >> well, erin, i walked into that hearing this morning very concerned about his experience to do the job. defense department is a huge organization, $850 billion a year budget 3 million people. he didn't seem to have the requisite experience to do this. when i walked out of the hearing i have to say i was more concerned about his transparency. he talks about personal issues without specifying what those were. and then, when asked about what i think the personal issues might be, and some of the things he's had to try to overcome, he talks about that these are just smears. and it

many mornings while working while running cva and this is what we did at cva that was in operation.l to action it was always a pleasure i appreciate the work you continue to do. even my brother fell in the front row. i want to thank all of you and of course kate was also an inspiration for me to write this book she told me you've got to write it you need to write it and i took her advice. thank you for being here. i also want to thank my very good college buddy matt hoot who is here and acknowledged as well in the book this book literally would not have happened without matt without him teaching me how to think and write and are you and hold me back of the rank of some absurd things i put in the publication. and so many others that are not here why dedicate this book to. yes great name good southern names. my parents. my brother arnate and i always will not recognize david w a very good friend of mine and fellow traveler and encourage the project from the beginning when i was in iraq and afghanistan guantc black frame e black frame i was hung it up where i was in was teddy roosevelt

>> while in louisiana on official business for cva, did you take your staff, including young female staff members, to a strip club? >> absolutely not. anonymous smears donald trump's secretary of defense nominee pete hegseth grilled during his senate confirmation hearing. >> senate democrats honing in on allegations of sexual assault and drinking on the job. but they also had other critical questions, hoping to understand how hegseth would answer to a president who, in his first term demanded unwavering loyalty from his underlings, even when they worried that his orders represented a misuse of military power. >> president trump directed former secretary of defense mark esper to shoot protesters in the legs in downtown d.c., an order secretary esper refused to comply with. would you carry out such an order from president trump? >> senator, i was in the washington, dc national guard unit that was in lafayette square during those events to carry out an order to. >> shoot protesters in the legs. >> i saw 50 secret service agents to get injured by rioters. >> you know what? that sounds to me?

it was what we did at cva that was an inspiration to me. it is a call to action that is exactly the call to action that is the organization's. i appreciate the work you continue to do from jay and bill and caroline and sarah and will and sean and amber and emily, kevin and fred, and even my brother phil in the front row here. i want to thank all of you and of course kate pomeroy. kate was an inspiration for me to write this book. she told me, you need to write it and i took her advice and i'm glad i did. thanks for being here. i want to think my very good college buddy, matt hoopes, who is here and is acknowledged as well in the book. this book literally would not have happened without matt teaching me how to think and write and argue and pulling me back from the brink of some absurd pages. thank you for your help on this project. it truly would not have happened. my wife, her voice who i dedicate this book to. my parents, my brother nate who is a man in the arena himself. a fellow traveler and author himself and who also encouraged this bo

hegseth, quote, laid a strong foundation that postured cva for long term success, end quote, and that mr. hegseth quote continued to be an invaluable asset to both me as a leader and the organization. end quote. so i would ask for unanimous consent to enter this washington times article and the letter from mr. mark lucas into the record. >> without objection. >> okay. thank you, mr. chair. good morning, mr. hegseth, and thank you very much. i appreciate your service to our nation. it's something that i know you are very proud of, and it is something that we have in common and that we share. um, you and i have had many productive conversations and just for our audience, we have had very frank conversations. is that correct, mr. hegseth? >> senator, that is a correct characterization. >> you know that i don't keep any anything hidden. pull no punches. um, my colleagues know that as well. so i do appreciate you sitting down and allowing me the opportunity to question you thoroughly on those issues that are of great importance to me. just to recap, those issues, three that are very import