Secret files kept by Hegseth’s office could spell big legal trouble for him: insider

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s office kept secret paper files of internet search printouts and used them to block the promotions of senior Navy officers, most of them women and people of color, and that process may have violated federal law, according to a new report.

A senior official with in-depth knowledge of flag and general officer selection told MS NOW that Hegseth’s executive office built “paper-only files” filled with internet search results that the officers under consideration couldn’t see. Instructions about the new criteria came over the phone instead of in writing. Two officers whose promotions were withheld confirmed the official’s account.

The report comes days after Democrats swept Congress in the midterms, which gives them control of the committees that oversee the Pentagon and confirm every flag and general officer promotion.

The officers had already been chosen by the Navy’s selection boards, which by law weigh performance, experience and education. Hegseth’s office then went after the officers over things like allowing a celebration with rainbow flags, speaking at a Hispanic Heritage Month event, joining an International Women’s Day panel, or encouraging sailors to get COVID-19 vaccines.

Of 31 officers selected for one-star rank, about 15 got reports, and nine were withheld. Every woman and minority on that list except one was removed. On the two-star list, the only woman selected and every person of color were taken off.

The official said it was the most names withheld in Navy history, beating the six officers struck in 2016 over possible ties to the Fat Leonard bribery scandal.

Legal experts say the way it was done could be a serious problem. Under federal law, only the president can remove individual names from one- and two-star promotion lists. The defense secretary can approve or reject a list only as a whole. Officers facing a delayed promotion are entitled to written notice and a chance to respond. The officers told MS NOW they got neither.

“If ‘professionally unqualified’ can mean ‘executed a lawful program the current Secretary opposes,’ the promotion system and law has no function left,” said Cody Harnish, a military defense attorney and former Army judge advocate general, who called the removals “illegal.”

Democrats had already started paying attention. In July, Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) asked the Pentagon’s inspector general to investigate. They called Hegseth’s intervention “highly irregular” and said it “completely nullifies” the merit-based process.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell didn’t answer questions about whether the law was broken. He said Hegseth “has acted and will continue to act within his authority and will not retreat from the historic transformation he has undertaken.”

The senior official warned it could take a decade to undo the damage.

“We don’t want second class citizens, right?” the official said. “We want everybody to think they can succeed.”