West Point is refusing to disclose whether school officials who gave false information to legacy media about Pete Hegseth’s acceptance into the academy will face disciplinary action for their conduct, The Federalist has learned.
The entire saga came to fruition on Wednesday morning, when Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, posted screenshots of his 1999 acceptance letter into West Point on X. In the caption accompanying the images, the Army veteran wrote, “We understand that ProPublica (the Left Wing hack group) is planning to publish a knowingly false report that I was not accepted to West Point in 1999. Here’s my letter of acceptance signed by West Point Superintendent, Lieutenant General Daniel Christman, US Army.”
As noted by the former Fox News host, ProPublica is radical left-wing “news” organization that acts as a PR operation for the Democrat Party and its interests. Bankrolled by the left’s dark money network and staffed with Democrat partisans, the outlet has spent the last year leading a seemingly coordinated smear campaign against Supreme Court Justices Samual Alito and Clarence Thomas.
Responding to Hegseth’s tweet in a condescending X thread, ProPublica Senior Editor and Reporter Jesse Eisinger — who edited ProPublica’s Pulitzer Prize-winning hit pieces against the conservative justices — effectively admitted the left-wing outlet was looking into running a hatchet job against Hegseth based on the Army veteran’s “different statements over the years about West Point, where he has said he was admitted.”
Eisinger claimed ProPublica first reached out to West Point’s public affairs office to inquire about Hegseth’s acceptance into the academy and was informed by a representative, “According to the admissions office – Hegseth had not applied for admission to the U.S. Military Academy.” Eisinger contended the leftist outlet subsequently called the academy “to ask if that meant that Hegseth had never been admitted,” and was purportedly told by a second West Point representative, “Absolutely 100%. Because he never opened a file.”
Eisinger’s thread details ProPublica’s alleged back and forth with Hegseth’s team regarding his acceptance into West Point. The ProPublica senior editor claimed Hegseth’s team eventually gave the outlet a copy of his acceptance letter and that ProPublica again reached out to West Point about the matter.
Eisinger noted how an Army spokesman admitted in response to ProPublica that a “review of [the academy’s] records indicates Mr. Peter Hegseth was offered admission to West Point in 1999 but did not attend West Point.”
“An incorrect statement involving Mr. Hegseth’s admission to the U.S. Military Academy was released by an employee on Dec. 10, 2024,” the official wrote. “Upon further review of an [archived] database, employees realized this statement was in error. Mr. Hegseth was offered acceptance to West Point as a prospective member of the Class of 2003. USMA takes this situation very seriously, and we apologize for this administrative error.”
Not seemingly concerned about West Point officials providing his outlet with false information about Hegseth’s military record, Eisinger revealed on X that ProPublica is “not publishing a story” on the matter.
When pressed by The Federalist on the identities of the West Point officials who provided ProPublica with inaccurate information about Hegseth’s acceptance into the school and whether these officials would face any disciplinary action for their conduct, West Point Directorate of Communications Cheryl L. Boujnida provided virtually the same response the academy gave to ProPublica.
“A review of our records indicates Peter Hegseth was offered admission to West Point in 1999 but did not attend. An incorrect statement involving Hegseth’s admission to the U.S. Military Academy was released by an employee on Dec. 10, 2024,” Boujnida wrote. “Upon further review of an archived database, employees realized this statement was in error. Hegseth was offered acceptance to West Point as a prospective member of the Class of 2003. The academy takes this situation seriously and apologizes for this administrative error.”
West Point also declined to say whether the officials who gave false information to ProPublica will be removed from their current duties responding to media inquiries and if the academy intends to launch an investigation into the matter, as requested by Sen. Tom Cotton.
The Arkansas Republican sent a letter to West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steven W. Gilland on Wednesday afternoon expressing concern about the school giving inaccurate information “to a left-wing reporter writing a derogatory hit piece about Pete Hegseth.” Cotton indicated that the academy representative who initially told ProPublica that Hegseth “didn’t apply to West Point” is Theresa Brinkerhoff, a civilian public affairs officer.
“This statement [provided by the public affairs representative] is incorrect; not only did Mr. Hegseth apply, but he was also accepted to the West Point Class of 2003,” Cotton wrote. “Worse, the statement may violate Mr. Hegseth’s rights under the Privacy Act of 1974 by revealing protected personal information. If true, it also demonstrates egregiously bad judgment to share such information about the nominee to be Secretary of Defense with a known liberal outlet like ProPublica.”
Cotton asked Gilland to “promptly look into this matter.”
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
