Sen. Mark Kelly Opens Pete Hegseth's "Open Book" — He Had No Answer!

[0:00] You walk in here saying that you've had personal and character issues in your past, including heavy drinking, which you wrote about. [0:09] And you said, and this is a quote from you, that you said, I sit before you as an open book. [0:17] Yet you haven't actually said what personal challenges it is that you've overcome when you've been asked about them. [0:25] So I'm going to give you an opportunity here to be as forthright as you say you want to be. [0:30] So while leading Concerned Veterans of America, there were very specific cases cited by individuals about your conduct. [0:39] I'm going to go through a few of them, and I just want you to tell me if these are true or false. [0:46] Very simple. On Memorial Day 2014 at a CVA event in Virginia, you needed to be carried out of the event for being intoxicated. [0:57] Senator Anonymous smears. [0:58] Just true or false. Very simple. Summer of 2014 in Cleveland. [1:04] Drunk in public with the CVA team. [1:09] Anonymous smears. [1:10] I'm just asking for true or false questions. True or false answers. [1:14] An event in North Carolina, drunk in front of three young female staff members after you had instituted a no alcohol policy and then reversed it. [1:24] True or false? [1:25] Anonymous smears. [1:25] He said he sat before them as an open book. [1:29] Those were Pete Hegseth's own words at the start of his confirmation hearing to become Secretary of Defense of the United States. [1:36] An open book. [1:37] Forthright. [1:38] Honest. [1:39] Ready to answer questions about his past and his character. [1:42] Senator Mark Kelly heard that, and then he opened the book. [1:46] Memorial Day 2014. [1:48] Carried out of an event for being intoxicated. [1:50] True or false? [1:52] Anonymous smears. [1:53] Cleveland Summer 2014. [1:55] Drunk in public with his team. [1:57] True or false? [1:58] Anonymous smears. [1:59] North Carolina. [2:00] Drunk in front of young female staff members after reversing his own no alcohol policy. [2:06] True or false? [2:07] Anonymous smears. [2:08] The Grand Hyatt in Washington. [2:11] Christmas party. [2:12] Noticeably intoxicated and carried up to his room. [2:15] True or false? [2:16] Anonymous smears. [2:18] A party bus. [2:19] Passed out in the back. [2:20] True or false? [2:21] Anonymous smears. [2:22] And then Kelly asked about Louisiana, and everything changed. [2:27] In 2014, while in Louisiana on official business for CBA, did you take your staff, including young female staff members, [2:37] to a strip club? [2:39] Absolutely not. [2:40] Anonymous smears. [2:42] So is it accurate that the organization reached a financial settlement with a female staffer [2:55] who claimed to be at a strip club with you, and there was a colleague who attempted to sexually assault her? [3:04] Was there a financial settlement? [3:08] Senator, I was not involved in that. [3:10] I don't know the nature of how that played out. [3:13] But you understand there was a financial settlement for a young female staffer who accused another member of the organization, [3:22] not you, of sexual assault in a strip club? [3:26] We have multiple statements on the record referring to that. [3:30] But you claim you were not there when that occurred? [3:34] Absolutely not. [3:35] Now, the behavior I cited, if true, do you think that this behavior of intoxication, going into these type of establishments, [3:49] women on your staff being so uncomfortable that they have to file these sort of harassment claims, [3:54] do you think this is appropriate behavior for a leader? [4:00] Senator, the overwhelming majority of anyone who's worked for me, [4:04] including the on-the-record statements that have been submitted to this, with their name on it, on the record, [4:09] men and women who worked with me every day, are the overwhelming preponderance of evidence [4:14] that testify to my leadership and professionalism in leading Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America. [4:21] My leadership has been completely impugned on these veterans organizations that did fantastic work. [4:27] Mr. Hegseth, I'm not even going to go into the accusations. [4:31] And we manage our financial books with integrity across the board. [4:35] How many people, everybody who runs the campaign... [4:37] I have limited time. [4:38] I'm not going to get into the accusations that come from Fox News. [4:42] I know you have some of your Fox News colleagues here. [4:44] There are multiple instances of accusations against you about drinking on the job. [4:50] All anonymous, all false, all refuted by my colleagues, [4:53] who I've worked with for 10 years at 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and everything in between... [4:58] The challenge here for me, Mr. Hegseth, is when there is discussion about personal challenges [5:05] and you admittedly had issues with heavy drinking, it's hard to kind of square this, to square the circle here. [5:14] It's kind of a difficult thing to do. [5:16] Let me ask you if... [5:18] I have about 90 seconds left here. [5:20] If you had to answer these questions about sexual assault against you and your drinking [5:26] and your personal conduct, would it have been different if this... if you were under oath? [5:33] Senator, all I'm pointing out is the false claims against me. [5:37] Okay, I take it you do not want to answer that question. [5:40] I walked into this hearing this morning concerned that you haven't demonstrated adequate leadership [5:46] in your civilian roles. [5:49] And this is a dangerous world we're living in here. [5:51] And America cannot afford a Secretary of Defense who is unprepared for that mission. [5:58] I'm going to leave with concerns about your transparency. [6:01] You say you've had personal issues in your past, yet when asked about those very issues, [6:06] you blame an anonymous smear campaign, even when many of these claims are not anonymous. [6:13] Which is it? [6:14] Have you overcome personal issues? [6:17] Or are you the target of a smear campaign? [6:20] Mark Kelly is a retired Navy captain and former astronaut. [6:24] He flew 39 combat missions in the Gulf War and flew four space shuttle missions. [6:29] He has served as Arizona's senior U.S. senator since 2020. [6:34] He was not asking these questions as a political exercise. [6:37] He was asking them as someone who has spent his career in institutions [6:41] where character, discipline, and honesty under pressure are not abstract values. [6:47] They are the things that determine whether people live or die, [6:50] whether missions succeed or fail, [6:52] whether the people who follow your orders can trust you with their lives. [6:57] When Kelly walked into that hearing room on January 14, 2025, [7:02] he said clearly what he was there to establish. [7:05] He was not there to relitigate personal history for its own sake. [7:09] He was there to answer one question. [7:12] Kelly said he wanted to understand whether Hegseth brought any of the necessary experience [7:16] the Secretary of Defense job requires. [7:19] He noted that Senator Coleman in introducing Hegseth had said [7:22] he had struggled and overcome great personal challenges. [7:26] Kelly pointed out that Hegseth himself had acknowledged personal and character issues, [7:30] including heavy drinking, which he had written about. [7:33] So the foundation of Kelly's entire line of questioning [7:36] was built on Hegseth's own words and his own supporters' introduction. [7:42] Not opposition research. [7:44] Not anonymous tips. [7:46] Hegseth had written about his struggles. [7:48] Coleman had cited them as evidence of character. [7:51] Kelly simply asked him to be specific about what those struggles were. [7:55] Hegseth said he sat before them as an open book. [7:58] Kelly opened it. [7:59] Memorial Day 2014 at a CVA event in Virginia, [8:02] Hegseth needed to be carried out of the event for being intoxicated. [8:06] True or false? [8:08] Anonymous smears. [8:09] Summer 2014 in Cleveland, drunk in public with the CVA team. [8:14] True or false? [8:15] Anonymous smears. [8:16] An event in North Carolina, drunk in front of three young female staff members [8:20] after he had instituted a no-alcohol policy and then reversed it. [8:24] True or false? [8:25] Anonymous smears. [8:26] December 2014 at the CVA Christmas party at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C., [8:32] noticeably intoxicated and had to be carried up to his room. [8:36] True or false? [8:37] Anonymous smears. [8:39] A CVA staffer stated that Hegseth passed out in the back of a party bus. [8:44] True or false? [8:45] Anonymous smears. [8:46] Five separate incidents. [8:48] Five separate cities. [8:50] Five separate years. [8:51] Five separate witnesses. [8:53] And the same two words every single time. [8:56] That pattern is worth examining before moving to the Louisiana question. [9:00] Because anonymous smears is a specific choice of words that does specific work. [9:06] It suggests the source is unknown. [9:08] That the claims come from faceless accusers with no credibility and no accountability. [9:14] That there is no way to verify them and no reason to take them seriously. [9:19] But Kelly had already done the work before he walked into that room. [9:22] Kelly pushed back, pointing out that some of these accusations were already on the record [9:27] with real names attached. [9:29] That made Hegseth's defense look weaker with every answer. [9:33] Some of these were not anonymous. [9:35] Some of the people who described these incidents had put their names on their accounts. [9:39] Hegseth called them anonymous smears anyway, every time, without qualification, [9:43] without distinguishing between the ones with names attached and the ones without. [9:47] That is not a defense. [9:48] That is a script. [9:50] And then came Louisiana. [9:51] In 2014, while in Louisiana on official business for CVA, did Hegseth take his staff, [9:57] including young female staff members, to a strip club? [10:00] This question was different from everything that came before it. [10:03] The previous questions were about Hegseth's own conduct, his own drinking, his own public behavior. [10:09] This question was about what happened to the people around him, the women who worked for him, [10:12] the staff he was responsible for as their leader. [10:16] For the first time in the entire exchange, Hegseth did not say anonymous smears. [10:20] He said absolutely not. [10:22] Two different words, a direct denial rather than a dismissal. [10:25] But Kelly was not done. [10:27] Kelly asked whether it was accurate that the organization reached a financial settlement [10:31] with a female staffer who claimed to be at a strip club [10:34] and who had a colleague attempt to sexually assault her. [10:37] Was there a financial settlement? [10:39] That question changed the frame entirely. [10:41] Hegseth had denied being at the strip club. [10:44] Kelly was now asking about something Hegseth did not need to have been physically present for. [10:50] A financial settlement, an official organizational response, [10:53] a legal resolution of a claim made by an employee. [10:57] Hegseth said, [10:58] Senator, I was not involved in that. [11:00] I don't know the nature of how that played out. [11:02] That answer confirmed the settlement existed. [11:05] He did not deny the settlement. [11:07] He denied his personal involvement in whatever led to it. [11:10] He said he didn't know how it played out. [11:12] The man who was leading the organization, [11:15] who would have had ultimate accountability for its legal and financial decisions, [11:20] said he did not know how a harassment-related financial settlement [11:23] with a female employee of his organization played out. [11:27] Kelly pressed. [11:28] You understand there was a financial settlement for a young female staffer [11:32] who accused another member of the organization, not you, of sexual assault in a strip club. [11:37] We have multiple statements on the record referring to that. [11:40] But you claim you were not there when that occurred. [11:43] Hegseth confirmed he claimed he was not there. [11:45] So the picture Kelly had assembled across 10 minutes of questioning was this. [11:49] An organization Hegseth led multiple incidents in multiple cities across a single year [11:54] where witnesses described him as publicly and professionally intoxicated. [11:59] A strip club visit with female staff on official travel. [12:04] A sexual assault allegation against a colleague at that strip club. [12:07] A financial settlement with the female employee who made the allegation. [12:11] And the leader of that organization either dismissed every incident as anonymous smears, [12:17] denied physical presence, or said he did not know how things played out. [12:22] Kelly then asked the question that cut through all of it. [12:25] If you had to answer these questions about sexual assault against you [12:28] and your drinking and your personal conduct, [12:31] would it have been different if you were under oath? [12:34] Hegseth did not answer. [12:36] Kelly noted he was taking that as Hegseth, not wanting to answer the question. [12:39] The implications of that silence are specific. [12:42] This was a confirmation hearing, not a deposition, not a grand jury, not a courtroom. [12:48] Witnesses at confirmation hearings are not automatically under oath unless the committee requires it. [12:54] Kelly was asking Hegseth directly whether the content of his answers would change [12:58] if he were legally required to tell the truth. [13:01] Hegseth's decision not to answer that question is its own answer. [13:05] Kelly's closing was precise. [13:06] He said he walked into the hearing concerned that Hegseth had not demonstrated adequate leadership [13:12] in his civilian roles. [13:14] In a dangerous world, America cannot afford a Secretary of Defense unprepared for the mission. [13:20] He said he was leaving with concerns about Hegseth's transparency, [13:24] and then the line that defined the entire exchange. [13:27] You say you have had personal issues in your past, [13:30] yet when asked about those very issues, you blame an anonymous smear campaign, [13:34] even when many of these claims are not anonymous. [13:37] Which is it? [13:38] Have you overcome personal issues, or are you the target of a smear campaign? [13:42] It can't be both. [13:43] That is the trap Kelly had been building toward from the first question. [13:47] Not a gotcha. [13:48] A logical corner. [13:50] Hegseth had done two things simultaneously that cannot coexist. [13:54] He had claimed credit for overcoming personal struggles. [13:56] And he had denied that any of the specific documented struggles existed. [14:02] If you overcame the drinking problem, the incidents happened, and you addressed them. [14:06] If the incidents didn't happen because they were all anonymous smears, [14:10] you didn't overcome anything, [14:12] you are simply the victim of a coordinated attack on your reputation. [14:16] It's clear to me that you're not being honest with us or the American people [14:20] because you know the truth would disqualify you from getting the job. [14:23] Kelly said that clearly, directly, on the record. [14:28] To the face of a man who would weeks later be confirmed as Secretary of Defense of the United States, [14:33] Hegseth was confirmed. [14:35] He now leads the Department of Defense. [14:37] He has since fired military lawyers, [14:39] banned press photographers who took unflattering photos, [14:43] shared classified information on an unsecured commercial messaging app. [14:47] And now, according to multiple reports, [14:50] may have presided over additional potential violations of the laws of armed conflict. [14:54] The confirmation hearing was the moment when the people responsible for advising on that confirmation [14:59] had the clearest possible view of who Hegseth was. [15:04] Kelly gave them six simple questions with one simple instruction. [15:08] True or false? [15:09] The answers they got were two words repeated until the question stopped. [15:14] Anonymous smears. [15:15] And the senators who voted to confirm him knew that. [15:19] Every Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee sat in that room. [15:22] They heard the same questions Kelly asked. [15:24] They heard the same two words repeated across five incidents in five cities spanning a single calendar year. [15:31] They heard Hegseth refuse to answer whether his responses would differ under oath. [15:36] They heard Kelly say it can't be both. [15:39] And they confirmed him anyway. [15:40] That vote is the part of this story that gets less attention than the hearing itself. [15:47] Because the hearing was uncomfortable and the confirmation was quiet. [15:51] The cameras were on Kelly's questions. [15:53] They were not on the vote count. [15:55] But the vote count is what actually determined what happened next. [15:59] The senators who confirmed Hegseth were not uninformed. [16:02] They were not surprised by what Kelly raised. [16:04] The drinking allegations had been in the press for weeks before the hearing. [16:09] The strip club incident and the financial settlement had been reported. [16:12] The pattern was documented and available. [16:15] Kelly did not bring new information into that room. [16:18] He brought existing information and forced it onto the record under the specific pressure of a direct question requiring a direct answer. [16:25] What he demonstrated was not just that the allegations existed, he demonstrated how Hegseth handled them when he had nowhere to deflect. [16:33] When there was no friendly interviewer, no supportive studio audience, no ability to change the subject or run out the clock. [16:40] Just a question and a requirement to answer it. [16:43] And the answer was always the same two words. [16:45] That is the thing Kelly wanted on the record. [16:47] Not the specific incidents. [16:49] The response to them. [16:50] Because the specific incidents are about the past. [16:53] The response to them is about the present. [16:56] About the man who would be making decisions in real time under pressure with no room to deflect and no script to fall back on. [17:03] Anonymous smears, repeated six times, tells you more about temperament under pressure than any prepared statement ever could. [17:11] Hegseth now leads the Department of Defense. [17:14] He now has three million military and civilian employees under his command. [17:19] He now makes decisions about the use of force, the deployment of troops, the classification of information, and the conduct of an active war with Iran. [17:28] He signs the orders that determine what American service members do and where and how. [17:34] Kelly saw what he saw in that room and said what he said. [17:37] America cannot afford a Secretary of Defense who is unprepared for the mission. [17:42] The Senate voted anyway. [17:43] And now the mission is real.