In what can only be described as a facepalm-worthy moment, the U.S. Military Academy, aka West Point, had to issue an official apology after incorrectly claiming that President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, was never accepted into the academy. Talk about stepping in it.
Here’s the deal: West Point initially claimed Hegseth wasn’t even on their radar back in the day. But then—cue dramatic pause—they actually checked their records. Oops! Turns out, Hegseth was offered admission in 1999, though he ultimately didn’t attend.
According to an email to The Epoch Times:
“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.”
Translation: Someone didn’t bother double-checking before making a public declaration. They continued:
“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.”
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Oh, how noble. The apology came after Hegseth, clearly fed up, posted his 1999 acceptance letter on X (formerly Twitter) as receipts. Why? Because he got wind that ProPublica was gearing up to publish a hit piece claiming he had lied about getting into West Point.
Now here’s where it gets fun. ProPublica went full “gotcha mode,” approaching Hegseth with some pointed questions. Editor Jesse Eisinger even threw in a journalism 101 lecture for good measure:
“The first rule of good journalism is: No Surprises. You must give the subject of a potential story a fair chance to respond to all of the salient facts in the story.”
Touché, Jesse. A ProPublica reporter emailed Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, on Dec. 10, writing:
“We’re preparing a story about Mr. Hegseth’s claims that he was admitted to West Point” and that “the school told us that is not true.”
“Why did Mr. Hegseth say he got in to West Point when that is not true? How can Mr. Hegseth be Secretary of Defense given that he has made false statements about getting in to the military’s most prestigious academy?”
For dramatic flair, they gave Parlatore a generous one hour to respond. Nothing says “fair chance” quite like a ticking clock.
But when Hegseth produced his acceptance letter and exposed the academy’s blunder, ProPublica had to shelve their scoop. They later explained:
“Reporters do their job by asking tough questions to people in power, which is exactly what happened here. Responsible news organizations only publish what they can verify, which is why we didn’t publish a story once Mr. Hegseth provided documentation that corrected the statements from West Point.”
Fair enough, but the damage was already done. ProPublica gave him an hour to find the letter and publish it while he was campaigning to get confirmed by the Senate. I can’t find my high school diploma in an hour.
Parlatore, meanwhile, wasn’t about to let West Point off the hook. In a letter to Lt. Gen. Steven W. Gilland, West Point’s superintendent, he attached an email from spokesperson Theresa Brinkerhoff, who wrongly told ProPublica that Hegseth hadn’t even applied to the academy. Not a great look.
Parlatore hinted that Brinkerhoff’s actions could potentially have crossed the line into violating federal law:
“In light of these concerns, I urge you to investigate this matter thoroughly and take appropriate corrective action to prevent future violations.”
When you think about it, Hegseth is going to be the next Secretary of Defense. You would think West Point would have gone the extra mile to confirm their reply before actually going public.
Brinkerhoff, for her part, hasn’t responded to any inquiries, and West Point is keeping mum about her involvement. That didn’t stop Sen. Tom Cotton from chiming in, though. He took the opportunity to deliver a verbal smackdown, writing to Gilland:
“Officials at the U.S. Military Academy should not be feeding lies to left-wing reporters about President Trump’s nominees. West Point needs to thoroughly investigate this egregiously bad judgment and potential violation of the Privacy Act immediately.”
The moral of the story? Maybe don’t go making bold public claims without double-checking your records—especially when those records are only a database search away.
#westpointcontroversy #petehegsethdefense #mediablunders
