Leaked email reveals how Pete Hegseth's mother made stunning allegation against her own son

Pete Hegseth's mother sent the nominee for Secretary of Defense an email in 2018 referring to him as 'an abuser of women,' a claim she says she immediately took back and regretted making. 

Since Hegseth, 44, came under the spotlight when he was nominated two weeks ago, he's been accused of sexual assault - one he has vehemently denied, while it was revealed he had a baby with Fox News producer lover Jennifer Rauchet just weeks before the alleged incident.

Now, an email his mother Penelope Hegseth sent him when he was divorcing his second wife Samantha to be with Rauchet has been leaked to the New York Times, with Hegseth's mother adamantly regretting and recanting what she said when reached for comment.

The letter, addressed April 30, 2018, begins: 'I have tried to keep quiet about your character and behavior, but after listening to the way you made Samantha feel today, I cannot stay silent. And as a woman and your mother I feel I must speak out,' she penned.

'You are an abuser of women — that is the ugly truth and 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.

When reached by the Times for comment, Penelope Hegseth - an executive business coach by trade - gave a completely different story and totally took back what she'd written. 

'It is not true. It has never been true. I know my son. He is a good father, husband,' before calling the Times 'disgusting' for publishing the email. 

She says that it was written 'in anger, with emotion' at the time Hegseth and Samantha were divorcing.  

The Times claims it got the email from somebody with 'ties to the Hegseth family.' Penelope, 70, admitted to forwarding the email to Samantha Hegseth after sending it to her son. 

She also claims to have written an apology to her son immediately after but has yet to produce it.  

Steven Cheung, the communications director for President-elect Trump, slammed the Times for publishing the email in a statement to DailyMail.com. 

'The New York Times is despicable for using an out-of-context snippet of an illegally-obtained private email exchange between a mother and her son that does not accurately reflect the entirety of the conversation. 

'In subsequent emails, Mrs. Hegseth expressed regret for her emotional message and apologized,' he wrote. 

Timothy Parlatore, a lawyer representing Hegseth, directed DailyMail.com toward Mr. Cheung's statement when approached for comment. 

As the letter goes on, Penelope admits that she is 'not a saint' but that her son's 'abuse over the years' to women needs to be called out.

Among her accusations of how her son treats women includes 'dishonesty, sleeping around, betrayal, debasing, belittling.'

She refers to now ex-wife Samantha as 'a good mother and a good person (under the circumstances that you created)' and slams her son for referring to her as 'unstable.'

Penelope then makes reference to Samantha as well as Hegseth's first wife, Meredith Schwartz. 

'Is there any sense of decency left in you? She did not ask for or deserve any of what has come to her by your hand. Neither did Meredith,' she writes.

Hegseth was married to Schwartz from 2004 to 2009 and Samantha from 2010 to 2017, when he began a relationship with Rauchet. She and Hegseth married in 2019.

'We still love you, but we are broken by your behavior and lack of character. I don't want to write emails like this and never thought I would. If it damages our relationship further, then so be it, but at least I have said my piece,' Penelope continues.

She adds that she and her family are 'praying for' Pete before accusing him of being able to 'twist and abuse' everything she says.

'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,' she ends the email. 

The pair appeared to have patched things up by Mother's Day about 13 months later in May of 2019, when Mrs. Hegseth appeared in a video thanking him for his military service. 

'I’m grateful for that, Pete, and proud every day to be your mom,' she said, adding that he is 'a hard worker, ambition... and a little stubborn.'

'I've always been proud of Pete. I love the way he loves his country. I don't know anybody who loves his country as much as Pete.'

They were together as recently as this past August, when the ex-Fox News anchor celebrated her 70th birthday with a family Instagram photo, where he said she and her father were 'making 70 great again.'  

Hegseth was investigated for an alleged sexual assault in 2017 but no charges were filed.

The alleged incident took place in the early morning hours of Oct. 8, 2017, at the address of the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa in Monterey, California, the city said in a statement. 

The police department investigated 'an alleged sexual assault' involving Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army National Guard veteran, that was reported four days later, according to the statement.

The victim's name and age are confidential.

No weapons were involved, according to the statement, but there were injuries – 'contusions to right thigh.'

No further details were released and the city said it would not release the full police report, noting it was exempt from public disclosure. The statement did not say what happened to the investigation.

Hegseth, who was divorced from his second wife at the time of the alleged incident, has not been charged in any criminal case or named as a defendant in any civil lawsuit.

Parlatore told news outlets: 'This statement confirms that although an allegation was made, it was fully investigated and no charges were filed.'

The Trump transition team was aware of the allegation.

Parlatore admitted to the Washington Post that his client paid the woman for her silence.

He said Hegseth paid her an undisclosed amount because he feared the allegation getting out 'would result in his immediate termination from Fox'.

Parlatore said Hegseth was drunk and claimed the woman was 'the aggressor in the encounter', which police did not agree with. 

Hegseth was a speaker at the California Federation of Republican Women conference at the Monterey hotel when the encounter that led to the investigation.

The Trump team is standing by their nominee.

'Mr. Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed,' said Cheung. 

'We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense so he can get started on Day One to Make America Safe and Great Again.'

Hegseth's nomination to lead the Pentagon is controversial.

He is a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan with a handful of military medals, including two Bronze Stars.

But many have questioned whether the 44-year-old co-host of 'Fox & Friends Weekends' can handle managing the Defense Department, which has a budget of $842 billion, almost 3 million employees and 750 military installations around the world.

He also has a history of controversial statements.

Hegseth once called liberals 'domestic enemies.' 

And he has said women should not be in combat for the U.S. military, a point he has made repeatedly including last week in an interview with 'The Shawn Ryan Show' podcast.

'I'm straight up just saying, we should not have women in combat roles,' Hegseth said on that podcast. 'It hasn't made us more effective, hasn't made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated.'

His support for combat veterans accused of war crimes also has drawn criticism.

Many have questioned whether he can win Senate confirmation because of his lack of experience.

Since 2019, Hegseth has been married to his third wife, Fox News producer Jennifer Rauchet. The two were married at Trump's National Gold Club in Colts Neck, New Jersey.

'They will have a fantastic life together,' Trump wrote on Twitter of the marriage. 

Hegseth and his first wife, Meredith Schwarz, divorced in 2009 amid allegations he cheated.

A year later, Hegseth married Samantha Deering. In 2014, four years into their marriage, Hegseth started working at Fox News. 

There he got involved with Jennifer Rauchet, a producer at the network. Rauchet was also married at the beginning of her relationship with Hegseth.

In 2017 the situation became public knowledge. Hegseth was already a father of three kids with Deering, and, in August 2017, he and Rauchet had a daughter together.

Hegseth and Deering divorced in August 2017, the same month his child was born with Rauchet. The alleged assault in California took place in October of that year.

One Hegseth ally blamed the surfacing of the allegation on GOP establishment members who are trying to thwart Hegseth's nomination.

'They'll try to kill all these nominations before the confirmation vote,' the ally said told Vanity Fair.