Democrats Say F.B.I. Did Not Interview Critical Witnesses About Pete Hegseth

Senate Democrats on Monday said that an F.B.I.background check on Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald J.

Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, omitted key details on major allegations against him, in part because it did not include interviews with critical witnesses.One missed opportunity came when the bureau did not interview one of Mr.Hegseth’s ex-wives before its findings were presented to senators last week, according to people familiar with the bureau’s investigation.The clamor comes on the eve of Mr.

Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, and just days after officials from Mr.Trump's transition team briefed Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the panel’s top Republican, and Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, its top Democrat, on the F.B.I.’s background check.“There are significant gaps and inadequacies in the report, including the failure to interview some of the key potential witnesses with personal knowledge of improprieties or abuse,” Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut and a member of the committee, said in an interview.As a rank-and-file member of the panel, Mr.

Blumenthal was not given a briefing on the report or provided with a copy of it, but was informed of its contents by someone who was given access to it.“Quite a few of the women with significant allegations against him have not been interviewed by the F.B.I.investigators,” Senator Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois and another member of the panel, said on MSNBC on Monday evening, adding that some of those women feared for their safety and that of their children.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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