GOP insiders called for Hegseth’s removal as leader of the veterans group in 2016

Monterey, California – The battle over President-elect Trump’s selection of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could become a test of loyalty for Republican supporters – some of whom were at the center of an attempt to unseat Hegseth as head of a veterans commission a decade ago. Charity over allegations of financial mismanagement, repeated drunkenness and sexual misconduct.

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

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

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

By 2010, tax revenue had dropped to just under $265,000, according to tax returns. The nonprofit’s 2011 filing listed Hegseth as an “official” rather than an executive director.

Hegseth began leading Concerned Veterans for America in 2011. By 2016, the year Hegseth stepped down as executive director, the organization raised $15.9 million and recorded expenses of $16.4 million, according to filings.

The following year — after Hegseth resigned — the nonprofit reduced its spending after “suspending major programs developed in the last fiscal year,” tax filings say.

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

Late Sunday evening, the New Yorker published new information from internal records and interviews with former employees of the company.

The magazine revealed that a previously unpublished “whistleblower report” detailed allegations of sexual misconduct by Hegseth and other men at CVA, as well as repeated incidents of public drunkenness while he was still married and serving in the Army National Guard.

CBS News has learned that the allegations contained in the seven-page report came from Duff and were shared privately to broader Republican circles outside of Concerned Veterans for America in 2018, when Hegseth’s name was announced for Veterans Affairs secretary.

A source close to Hegseth told CBS News that the report was sent anonymously to Fox News years ago, ostensibly “to try to get him fired,” and claimed that Fox investigated the matter but concluded that it is “baseless”.

“Fox News has no record of receipt of this report,” a spokesperson for the network said.

The source called Duff “a disgruntled former employee” at CVA who spread “false allegations” about Hegseth to damage his television career. “She was jealous because she wanted to go on TV,” the source said. Hegseth fired Duff from Concerned Veterans for America, according to two sources.

In 2016, after employees complained about Hegseth’s leadership of Concerned Veterans of America, billionaire Republican donors Charles and David Koch, who funded the group, forced Hegseth to resign, sources told CBS News. According to Military Times, he resigned in January 2016, which both Hegseth and the organization described as a mutual decision and denied rumors of a dispute.

Hegseth’s lawyer Tim Parlatore denied all allegations against his client.

As Hegseth walked through the Capitol and visited with senators who will speak on his expected nomination as defense chief, CBS News asked him Monday about why he resigned from the CVA. He walked on in silence and didn’t answer. Hegseth also did not comment when asked whether he feared that the latest allegations could derail his appointment as defense minister.

According to Republican sources who spoke to CBS News, Duff was his harshest critic in private circles until Hegseth was announced as Trump’s nominee for defense secretary.

But now Duff is publicly supporting his upcoming nomination to head the Defense Department and defending his controversial opposition to women serving in combat.

Duff was contacted multiple times by CBS News on Monday and did not respond.

Duff, a Newsmax analyst, served as a consultant for Concerned Veterans for America while Hegseth led the organization from 2013 to 2016. The organization was founded in 2011 as a Koch-funded nonprofit group called the Vets for Economic Freedom Trust.

The group represents primarily conservative views in both the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, particularly advocating for the latter’s transition to a privatized health care system.

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

Margaret Hoover, host of the PBS show “Firing Line” and a former adviser to Vets for Freedom, said in an interview on CNN that Hegseth ran the organization “very poorly.” Hoover expressed doubts about his ability to lead the sprawling Defense Department as he struggled with fewer than 10 employees and a budget of less than $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’ve seen over these years,” she said.

In response to questions from CBS News about the finances at Veterans for Freedom under his leadership, Hegseth simply responded, “I love working for the best in the military and I feel privileged that the President of the United States would give me the opportunity to do so .” represent the best in the military.”

The whistleblower report, obtained by The New Yorker, also describes several incidents in which Hegseth was allegedly drunk on the job, “to the point that he had to be removed from the organization’s events.”

When asked by CBS News on Capitol Hill whether he had ever been drunk while traveling on business, Hegseth replied: “I’m not going to dignify that with an answer.”

A source close to Hegseth acknowledged that people at these events “occasionally” drank too much, but insisted that the report’s claims about Hegseth were false.

“The idea that a veterans organization of combat veterans who have recently retired from the military would drink or drink too much is not news,” they said. “That’s the entire business model of the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars).”

The source said Hegseth had publicly admitted that he had “drank too much” in the past, adding: “That’s not the kind of life Pete is currently living. He’s certainly matured a lot over the last decade.”

It happened last month revealed that Hegseth secretly paid a financial settlement to a woman who accused him of raping her at a Republican women’s banquet at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey, California, in 2017. The city of Monterey published its investigation into Hegseth in 2017.

The accuser, whose name was not publicly released, reported feeling like she had been drugged and recalled repeatedly saying “no” while in a hotel room with Hegseth. She claimed he stopped her from leaving and was on top of her. CBS News does not publicly identify people who have reported suspected sexual assault unless that person publicly identifies themselves.

Timothy Parlatore, Hegseth’s attorney, previously told CBS News, “This allegation has already been investigated by the Monterey Police Department and no evidence has been found to support it.”

Monterey police forwarded their report of 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 that her office “declined to file charges” in January 2018 because no charges had been filed. supported by evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Hegseth denies the allegations and claims the encounter was consensual.