GOP insiders sought Hegseth’s removal as leader of veterans’ group in 2016

Monterey, California — The battle over President-elect Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, may become a test of loyalty for Republican stalwarts — some of whom stood at the center of a bid 10 years ago to remove Hegseth as the head of a veterans’ charity over allegations of financial mismanagement, repeated intoxication and sexual misconduct.

One of those who led the effort to oust Hegseth as head of the Concerned Veterans of America in 2016 was Jessie Jane Duff, a Marine veteran who served as one of President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign executive directors, according to multiple Republican insiders familiar with the events, all of whom spoke on the condition they not be named over fear of reprisals from those within the party. Duff sought Hegseth’s removal from leadership roles in the veterans’ group, CBS News has learned. 

While she worked at Concerned Veterans for America as a senior military adviser, Duff allegedly complained about Hegseth’s frequent public intoxication, poor leadership and the toxic work climate he fostered within the organization, according to Republican insiders with knowledge of the matter. She also allegedly slighted Hegseth for his service in the National Guard, underscoring that he had only been a “part-time” soldier and not a full-time active-duty servicemember, according to Republican insiders who spoke to CBS News. 

Tax filings show Hegseth became a director at Veterans for Freedom in 2006 and executive director in 2007. In 2008, filings show the organization raised over $8.7 million in revenue — but spent over $9 million, including significant sums on media buys and events and initiatives.

By 2010, tax filings show revenue had dropped to just under $265,000. In the nonprofit’s 2011 filing, Hegseth was listed as an “officer,” rather than its executive director.

Hegseth started leading Concerned Veterans for America in 2011. By 2016, the year Hegseth resigned as executive director, filings show the organization raised $15.9 million and listed $16.4 million in expenses. 

The following year — after Hegseth stepped down — the nonprofit reduced its expenses after “major programs developed in the last fiscal year were paused,” the tax filings said.

The filings also showed Concerned Veterans for America had hired Hegseth’s brother, Philip Hegseth, while he was still in college.

The New Yorker late Sunday night published new information gleaned from internal records and interviews with former employees of the group. 

The magazine revealed that a previously undisclosed “whistle-blower report” detailed allegations of sexual misconduct by Hegseth and other men at CVA, and repeated incidents of public intoxication while he was still married and serving in the Army National Guard. 

CBS News has learned the allegations contained in the seven-page-report originated with Duff and were privately circulated to broader Republican circles outside Concerned Veterans for America in 2018, when Hegseth’s name was floated for secretary of veterans affairs. 

A source close to Hegseth told CBS News that the report had been anonymously sent to Fox News years ago, allegedly “to try and get him fired,” asserting that Fox had looked into it but determined it was “baseless.” 

“Fox News does not have any record of receiving this report,” said a network spokesperson.

The source called Duff “a disgruntled former employee” at CVA who pushed “false claims” about Hegseth to try to hurt his television career. “She was jealous, because she wanted to get into TV,” said the source. Hegseth had fired Duff from Concerned Veterans for America, according to two sources. 

In 2016, after staffers complained about Hegseth’s leadership of Concerned Veterans of America, the billionaire Republican donors who funded the group, Charles and David Koch, forced Hegseth to step down, sources told CBS News. He resigned in January 2016 in a move described by both Hegseth and the organization as a mutual decision, dismissing rumors of a rift, according to Military Times. 

Hegseth’s attorney, Tim Parlatore, denied all the allegations against his client.

As Hegseth walked through the Capitol, visiting the senators who will weigh in on his expected nomination to be defense chief, CBS News questioned him Monday about why he had resigned from CVA. He kept walking silently and did not respond. Hegseth also did not comment when asked if he was concerned the latest allegations could derail his nomination as defense secretary.

Duff was his most outspoken critic in private circles until Hegseth was announced as Trump’s pick for defense secretary, according to the Republican sources who spoke with CBS News. 

But now, Duff publicly supports his impending nomination to lead the Defense Department and has defended his controversial opposition to women serving in combat. 

Contacted by CBS News multiple times on Monday, Duff did not respond. 

Duff, a Newsmax analyst, served as an adviser for Concerned Veterans for America while Hegseth helmed the organization from 2013 until 2016. The organization was formed in 2011 as a Koch-funded non-profit group called “Vets for Economic Freedom Trust.” 

The group primarily promotes conservative views in the arenas of both the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, particularly advocating for the latter to move towards a privatized healthcare system. 

Hegseth, the 44-year-old former co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekends” has faced a barrage of scrutiny involving his personal life and whether he has the experience to manage the Defense Department, the largest U.S. government agency, with a budget of $842 billion, almost 3 million employees and 750 military installations around the world. 

Margaret Hoover, host of PBS’ “Firing Line” and a former adviser to Vets for Freedom, said in an interview on CNN that Hegseth had managed the organization “very poorly.” Hoover expressed doubt about his ability to run the sprawling Defense Department when he had struggled with a staff of less than 10 people, and a budget of under $10 million. 

“I don’t know how he’s going to run an organization with an $857 billion budget, and 3 million individuals, based on what I saw in those years,” she said. 

In response to CBS News questions about the finances at Veterans for Freedom under his leadership, Hegseth merely said, “I love working for the best in the military, and I’m privileged that the president of the United States would give me the opportunity to represent the best in the military.”

The whistleblower report received by The New Yorker also detailed multiple incidents where Hegseth was allegedly intoxicated on the job “to the point of needing to be carried out of the organization’s events.” 

When pressed by CBS News on Capitol Hill about whether he was ever drunk while traveling on the job, Hegseth replied, “Not gonna dignify that with a response.”

A source close to Hegseth acknowledged that people did “occasionally” have too much to drink at these events but maintained that the report’s claims about Hegseth are false. 

“The idea that a veterans organization of combat veterans who’d recently transitioned out of the military would drink or have too much to drink, that’s not news,” they said. “That’s the entire business model of the VFW [Veterans of Foreign Wars].” 

The source said Hegseth has publicly acknowledged that he “drank too much” in the past, adding: “That’s not the kind of life that Pete lives right now. He certainly has matured a lot in the past decade.”

Last month, it was revealed that Hegseth had secretly paid a financial settlement to a woman who had accused him of raping her in 2017 at a Republican women’s banquet at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey, Calif. The city of Monterey released its 2017 investigation into Hegseth. 

The accuser, who has not been publicly named, reported she felt as though she had been drugged and recalled repeatedly saying “no” while in a hotel room with Hegseth. She alleged that he prevented her from leaving and was on top of her. CBS News does not publicly name individuals who have reported an alleged sexual assault unless that person chooses to publicly identify themselves.

Timothy Parlatore, Hegseth’s attorney, told CBS News previously: “This allegation was already investigated by the Monterey police department and they found no evidence for it.”

The Monterey Police Department forwarded its report about the alleged assault to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office for review back in 2017. Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni said last month her office “declined to file charges” in January 2018 as none were “supported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Hegseth denies the allegations and claims the encounter was consensual.