The latest story against Pete Hegseth just went south and was shown to be false.
ProPublica said they were pursuing a story about whether Hegseth had been admitted to West Point as he claimed. They said they had contacted West Point and been told on the record, twice that they had no record of Hegseth being accepted. They then said they didn’t run with the story when Hegseth produced a letter showing he had been accepted.
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Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) is now demanding answers about how West Point could have given false information about Pete Hegseth’s acceptance to the Academy and whether they violated the Privacy Act in commenting on the question.
READ MORE:
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On top of that Hegseth’s lawyer Tim Parlatore is now on the case too. He also dropped the hammer on West Point in a letter for sharing “false information” about Hegseth.
“The use of false statements to influence or damage a political nominee’s reputation is particularly concerning, as it may interfere with the democratic process and the fair consideration of candidate for public office,” he added.
Parlatore called for an investigation and echoed Cotten saying it may have violated the Privacy Act of 1974, which prohibits West Point from sharing records without the individual’s consent.
The only exceptions to the statute involve records that are demanded by law enforcement or asked for via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request — neither of which applied here, according to Parlatore.
Parlatore wasn’t finished there.
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In addition to “reputational harm,” Parlatore added, the potentially criminal fabrication could also “undermine public trust” in the US military.
“In light of these concerns, I urge you to investigate this matter thoroughly and take appropriate corrective action to prevent future violations. As a fellow Service Academy graduate, I am sure that we both agree that it is imperative that our Service Academies uphold the highest standards of privacy, accuracy, and integrity in their communications.”
West Point has now also issued a statement trying to explain themselves.
A West Point spokesperson later told The Post, “A review of our records indicates Peter Hegseth was offered admission to West Point in 1999 but did not attend. An incorrect statement involving Hegseth’s admission to the U.S. Military Academy was released by an employee on Dec. 10, 2024.”
“Upon further review of an archived database, employees realized this statement was in error,” the rep said. “Hegseth was offered acceptance to West Point as a prospective member of the Class of 2003. The academy takes this situation seriously and apologizes for this administrative error.”
Why were they making any comment at all, much less not checking the “archived database” before answering?
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So West Point’s answer leaves a lot of questions.
Plus it isn’t exactly the same as what ProPublica is saying.
3/ We called back to ask if that meant that Hegseth had never been admitted and a second spokesperson told us on the record:
“Absolutely 100%. Because he never opened a file.”
— Jesse Eisinger (@eisingerj) December 11, 2024
West Point doesn’t mention a second contact and statement.
Hegseth ended up going to Princeton instead. Meanwhile, the truth that the left seems to want to gloss over in the effort against Hegseth is that he also served with honor and distinction for years in the military, earning two Bronze stars. At this point, the tide seems to have turned in his favor and Cotton believes he will be confirmed.
This latest false information may just have sealed it.
