Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) took Pete Hegseth, President-decide on Donald Trump’s nominee to guide the Division of Security, via a lightning round of questions on sexual misconduct and alcohol abuse all over his affirmation hearing on Tuesday.
“As a part of my duty as a member of this committee to make sure the health of all nominees who come earlier than any of the committees on which I sit, I ask the following two initial questions,” commenced Hirono. “First, since you turned into a felony grownup, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or dedicated any verbal or bodily harassment or assault of a sexual nature?”
“No Senator,” answered Hegseth.
right Here’s how the dialog proceeded from there:
HIRONO: Have you ever ever confronted self-discipline or entered right into a settlement with regards to this sort of behavior?
HEGSETH: Senator, I used to be falsely accused in October of 2017. It was fully investigated and I was once totally cleared.
HIRONO: I don’t assume totally cleared is correct. But if truth be told that your own legal professional said that you entered into an NDA and paid a person who accused you of raping her a amount of money to make it possible for she didn’t file a criticism.
Shifting on, as secretary, you’ll be in control of maintaining good order and discipline through enforcing the Uniform Code of Militia Justice, UCMJ. Along with the sexual assault allegations, and by using the way in which, the reply to my 2d question must were sure. I’ve learn a couple of stories of your frequently being drunk at work, together with by way of individuals who labored with you at Fox News. Are you aware that being inebriated at work is unlawful for service participants below the UCMJ?
HEGSETH: Senator these are-
HIRONO: Yes or no?
HEGSETH: …a couple of, false, anonymous reviews peddled by means of NBC News-
HIRONO: Do you know that consuming on the job is-
HEGSETH: …and run immediately contradictory to the dozens of men and women at Fox News Channel-
HIRONO: I’m no longer listening to, I’m not listening to the answer to my question.
HEGSETH: …who I worked with, who came on the file, and said they’d by no means considered that.
HIRONO: To your opening statement, Mr. Hegseth, you commit to maintaining leaders guilty at all levels. That includes you, of course. And frankly, as secretary, you’ll be on the job 24/7. You latterly promised some of my Republican colleagues that you simply stopped ingesting and gained’t drink if demonstrated, correct?
HEGSETH: Absolutely.
HIRONO: Will you resign as secretary of safeguard if you drink on the job, which is a 24/7 position?
HEGSETH: I’ve made this commitment on behalf of the men and women that I’m serving.
HIRONO: Will you resign as secretary of security if you drink on the job?
HEGSETH: I’ve made this commitment on behalf of the women and men I’m serving, as a result of it’s an important deployment of my existence.
HIRONO: I’m not hearing an answer to my query, so I’m going to maneuver on. While you have made that dedication, you will now not decide to resigning in case you drink on the job.
Watch above by way of CNN.
The submit Mazie Hirono Takes Pete Hegseth Through Lightning Spherical of Intercourse and Booze Questions: ‘Will You Resign’ If You ‘Drink on the Job?’ first seemed on Mediaite.