Pete Hegseth’s Alleged Drinking Worried Fox News Colleagues, Report Says

Pete Hegseth’s alleged drinking has worried a number of his former Fox News colleagues, who claimed he often smelled of alcohol before going on air, according to a report.

Hegseth, who was nominated to be Secretary of Defense by Donald Trump, would complain about being hungover and act as if “the rules didn’t apply to him,” according to accounts from 10 current and Fox News alumni, who spoke. at NBC News.

This comes as Hegseth faces continued scrutiny over scandals from his past, centered on his treatment of women, which could potentially derail his upcoming confirmation as defense secretary.

Two of the Fox employees who spoke to BNC said that on more than a dozen occasions during Hegseth’s time as co-host of Fox and Friends Weekendwhich began in 2017, they smelled alcohol on him before he went on air.

Those same two people, along with another co-worker, said he often complained of being hungover while getting ready or on set. Despite this, none said they could recall an instance where Hegseth missed a scheduled court appearance.

But, according to sources, Hegseth’s condition was a common topic of conversation in the studio. “Everyone was talking about it behind the scenes before it went on the air,” one of the former Fox News employees said.

Three current employees told NBCHegseth that Hegseth’s drinking was a concern as recently as when Trump announced he would join the cabinet. Hegseth resigned from his role at Fox following the announcement.

“He’s such a lovely guy, but he acted like the rules didn’t apply to him,” one of the former employees said.

This comes as Hegseth also faced allegations of repeated drunken behavior at official events during his tenure as head of Concerned Veterans for America (CVA), which lasted from 2013 to 2016.

According to a report from The New Yorkerwhich was compiled by several CVA employees and sent to the group’s management in 2015, the behavior ultimately became embarrassing for the rest of the staff.

In one particular incident, Hegseth was accused of drunkenly shouting, “Kill all the Muslims!” » in the middle of a bar while he was president of a veterans group, The New Yorker reported. The alleged incident occurred on May 29, 2015 during an official tour in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

“I’ve seen him drunk so many times. I saw him taken away not a few times but many times. Having him in the Pentagon would be scary,” one of the whistleblowers told the outlet.

They added: “When those of us who worked at CVA heard he was being considered for SecDef, it wasn’t ‘No,’ it was ‘No!’ »