Veterans Advocacy Group Trustee Debunks Whistleblower’s Claims that Pete Hegseth was Forced Out of the Position Due to Drinking and Other Misconduct

The mainstream media’s relentless assault on President Trump’s Defense Secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth, has reached new lows. From anonymous sources to debunked allegations, the media’s coordinated smear campaign reeks of desperation to undermine a decorated veteran and staunch advocate for America’s warriors.

The media, led by NBC News and The New Yorker, has circulated sensational claims about Hegseth’s supposed drinking habits, citing unnamed sources and dubious whistleblower reports.

NBC News claimed, based on ten anonymous current and former Fox News employees, that Hegseth’s drinking “worried his colleagues.”

Meanwhile, The New Yorker alleged in a so-called “undisclosed report” that Hegseth’s tenure as president of Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) was marred by incidents of public drunkenness, including a fabricated story about a strip club event.

The news outlet reported:

A previously undisclosed whistle-blower report on Hegseth’s tenure as the president of Concerned Veterans for America, from 2013 until 2016, describes him as being repeatedly intoxicated while acting in his official capacity—to the point of needing to be carried out of the organization’s events.

The detailed seven-page report—which was compiled by multiple former C.V.A. employees and sent to the organization’s senior management in February, 2015—states that, at one point, Hegseth had to be restrained while drunk from joining the dancers on the stage of a Louisiana strip club, where he had brought his team.

When ambushed by a reporter demanding answers to the baseless claims, Hegseth refused to entertain the smear campaign. “I’m not gonna dignify that with a response,” he replied.

Conservative media figures have also come to Hegseth’s defense. Fox and Friends co-host Will Cain, former Fox News host Dan Bongino, and contributor Piers Morgan have all publicly condemned the allegations as politically motivated character assassination.

Randy Lair, a trustee of Concerned Veterans for America, broke his silence to set the record straight.

In a letter obtained exclusively by the New York Post, Lair categorically denied the allegations of misconduct from a whistleblower, confirming that Hegseth “voluntarily resigned” from his position at CVA to pursue other opportunities, including his relationship with Fox News.

Read the full letter below:

“Pete Hegseth has provided to me a copy of an unsolicited email recently sent to Fox News Channel regarding Pete and his departure from Concerned Veterans for America. Although we do not normally respond to this type of email, we thought it was important to set the record straight given what appears to be a very personal attack against Pete and his military service.

The truth is Pete resigned his position as CEO of Concerned Veterans for America as a result of a difference of opinion as to the future of the organization and so that he could focus on other endeavors, including his relationship with Fox News.

Pete was not terminated by the organization and, in fact, we at CVA worked with him though this difficult decision and mutually agreed the end of 2015 was the best timing for both parties. As far as Pete’s military service is concerned, we believe his record speaks for itself and it was never an issue with our organization.

The bottom line is that Pete Hegseth voluntarily resigned his position and CVA recognizes and appreciates his accomplishments as CEO. Pete provided strong leadership during the growth of CVA as an influential organization on many fronts. We wish him much success.”