So, you know things are getting bad when you have to call your mom to bail you out.

Today, Fox News host Pete Hegsett's mother, Penelope Hegseth, went on Fox to vouch for her son

and why he should still be Donald Trump's pick for Secretary of Defense.

Now, for context here, last week the New York Times obtained an email, Ms. Hegeseth wrote her to her son,

while he was in the middle of an acrimonious divorce back in 2018. It read, in part, you are an

abuser of women. On behalf of all the women, and I know it's many, you have abused in some way.

I say, get some help and take an honest look at yourself.

On Fox today, Penelope Hagseth disavowed what she wrote to her son in that email and was

very direct about who she was hoping was listening.

I am here to tell the truth.

To tell the truth to the American people and tell the truth to the senators on the hill, especially our female senators.

I really hope that you will not listen to the media and that you will listen to Pete.

Now, Donald Trump only chose Pete Hegseth to be his nominee for

Secretary of Defense three weeks ago. But in those three weeks, we have learned that

Hegseth was accused of sexual assault in 2017, an accusation he denies. We then learned that

he paid that accuser an undisclosed amount of money to sign an NDA.

Then earlier this week, the New Yorker reported that Hegseth was forced out of multiple

veterans groups for financial mismanagement, and there were allegations of sexist behavior

and being repeatedly and belligerently drunk in public.

Last night, NBC News spoke to 10 current and former Fox News employees who said that while he was at Fox, Hegset drank in ways that concerned

them. And yet, despite all of this swirl, all of this controversy, Pete Heggseth is not going anywhere.

Today, he published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal titled, literally, I faced fire before, I won't back down.

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