CNN
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The mother of Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s head of the Defense Department, sent her son an email in 2018 that sharply criticized his treatment of women, The New York Times reported Friday.

Penelope Hegseth told her son in the email that there were “many” women he had “abused in some way” and encouraged him to “get some help,” according to the email published by The Times. Email.

The partial release of the email comes as Pete Hegseth, a veteran and former Fox News host with no prior government experience, is expected to face a tough Senate confirmation process, including questions about a sexual assault allegation from October 2017. No charges have been filed against Hegseth Charges brought to incident, and he has denied the accusation, claiming the sexual encounter was consensual.

According to the Times report, Penelope Hegseth wrote, “I have no respect for a man who belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and exploits women for his own power and ego.” You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother it pains me and embarrasses me to say this, but it is the sad, sad truth.”

Penelope Hegseth told The New York Times on Friday that she wrote the email “in anger and emotion” and that she immediately apologized in a separate email. She continued to defend her son, saying her own description of his treatment of women in the 2018 email “was never true.”

CNN has reached out to Penelope Hegseth for comment. An attorney for Pete Hegseth declined to comment.

According to the Times report, Penelope Hegseth sent the email to her son on April 30, 2018 – about six months after the alleged assault. The email was sent in connection with her son’s divorce from his second wife, The Times reported.

Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director, said in a statement shared with CNN on Saturday that Penelope Hegseth’s email was “a snippet taken out of context.”

“The New York Times and other media outlets are despicable for using an out-of-context excerpt of an illegally obtained private email exchange between a mother and her son that does not accurately represent the entire conversation,” Cheung said. “In subsequent emails, Ms. Hegseth expressed regret for her emotional message and apologized.”

CNN previously reported that a woman accused Pete Hegseth of sexually assaulting her in the early morning hours of October 8, 2017, in Monterey, California, where Hegseth had given a lecture the previous evening. The accuser told police that Hegseth physically prevented her from leaving a hotel room, took her phone and then sexually assaulted her.

Years later, in a settlement agreement that included a confidentiality clause, Hegseth paid off the accuser, his attorney, Timothy Parlatore CNN said in a statement earlier this month. Parlatore said Hegseth came to terms with it because it was during the “Me Too” movement and he didn’t want to lose his job at Fox News if the accusation became public. The statement did not say how much the accuser was paid as part of the settlement, although Parlatore said it was “a significantly reduced amount.”

After the allegation surfaced earlier this month, Hegseth told Republicans in a call to prayer that “the fight is just beginning” as he faces skepticism over his confirmation.

During the call, Hegseth said his family has received “an outpouring of support” since Trump announced the decision, adding, “That’s why we can endure the attacks and attacks.”

Trump allies have defended Hegseth, with Sen. Markwayne Mullin — who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee that would hold confirmation hearings for Hegseth — telling CNN’s Dana Bash that he “absolutely” believes Hegseth’s side of the story and that the claim is “not true”. “That doesn’t stop Pete from continuing to do this.” Mullin emphasized that Hegseth is not accused of any wrongdoing and said the police report on the incident supports Hegseth’s version of the Oct. 8 encounter.

Correction: This story has been updated to clarify that Peter Hegseth is a former Fox News host.

CNN’s Alayna Treene, Kaitlan Collins, Casey Tolan, Scott Glover and Sara Murray contributed to this report.