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A key senator on the Armed Services Committee says he is standing by President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth, pushing back on those he called “anonymous sources with ulterior motives” who are casting doubt on his character.
Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., in a statement Wednesday criticized recent reports on a confidential briefing on the FBI background investigation of Hegseth as “starkly and factually inaccurate.”
“It is disturbing that a sensitive, longstanding process used by committee leadership to vet presidential personnel is being litigated in the press by anonymous sources with ulterior motives,” Wicker said, adding that he’s received three separate, detailed briefings on the FBI’s background investigation.
Wicker was responding to a CNN report that cited two sources familiar with the matter who claimed that Hegseth’s ex-wife, Samantha Hegseth, gave a statement to the FBI about Hegseth’s alleged alcohol use. The outlet said one of the sources said Samantha Hegseth told the FBI, “He drinks more often than he doesn’t.”
HEGSETH LAWYER SLAMS ‘FLAWED AND QUESTIONABLE AFFIDAVIT’ FROM EX-SISTER-IN-LAW
Pete Hegseth, left, President Donald Trump’s choice to be Defense Secretary, shakes hands with Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss. after his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A source familiar with the FBI investigation confirmed the recent briefing and its contents to Fox News, saying “yes, Samantha provided a prepared statement to the FBI in which she said Pete Hegseth has had and continues to have a problem with alcohol abuse. That statement was communicated by the FBI to Senators Wicker and Reed.”
Meanwhile, Wicker says that he continues to stand by Hegseth.
“After this thorough review, I am ironclad in my assessment that the nominee, Mr. Hegseth, is prepared to be the next Secretary of Defense, and…
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