Sparks fly as Pentagon chief dodges questions on hiring his personal attorney for DOD role

Rep. Jason Crow (D-Col.) confronted Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday during a hearing on the Pentagon budget about the secretary's decision to hire his personal lawyer to a top role while the lawyer is still working with clients on the side.

Hegseth quickly jumped on Crow's questioning as the Democrat led him through a cross-examination about his hire of Tim Parlatore.

Hegseth began by saying that Parlatore did serve as his private attorney and for President Donald Trump's campaign.

"And you appointed Mr. Parlatore as your senior advisor, correct?" Crow asked.

"He does reserve duty on behalf of the Navy," Hegseth said.

"His title is senior advisor. You gave him that title, correct?" Crow asked.

"And I would count him as very much an advisor of mine," Hegseth responded.

"Yep. He travels with you, correct?" Crow asked.

Hegseth simply insisted that Parlatore was a "long-term friend" and "a great patriot" before later conceding that Parlatore does travel with him. Crow asked if he had a desk in the Pentagon, which Hegseth said he didn't know.

"You don't know?" Crow asked.

"It's a big Pentagon," said Hegseth.

Crow walked through the fact that Parlatore was commissioned as a Navy commander so he never had to go through the proper vetting at the White House Presidential Personnel office. Crow pointed out he also wasn't confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Promotions of all commissioned military officers are made by the president, but the Senate votes on whether to confirm those promotions. Parlatore was never voted on by the Senate.

That's when Hegseth snapped, "I don't know what you're getting to, but Tim is fantastic."

Crow continued his line of questioning, asking about Parlatore's security clearance, which caused Hegseth to snap again.

"You're playing a gotcha game like you do on TV. Everywhere else you're trying to thread together details," he complained.

"Clearly you're concerned about my line of questioning," Crow said. "You know where it's going."

The congressman then pivoted to asking about whether Parlatore was still practicing law under his own private practice while also working at the Pentagon.

"Does he represent foreign governments or foreign persons in that private law practice?" asked Crow. Hegseth didn't know, which Crow found shocking given that Parlatore sits in classified meetings as Hegseth's "special advisor." Hegseth said he also didn't know whether Parletore was representing any senior military officers who were up for promotion to his office.

Crow noted that Parlatore, during the 2024 campaign, quit Trump's legal team, saying the infighting made the group a mess. At one point, Trump's campaign came out and called Parlatore a liar.

The quote came from a 2023 Politico report: "Trump’s campaign disputed his former lawyer’s assertions. 'Mr. Parlatore is no longer a member of the legal team. His statements regarding current members of the legal team are unfounded and categorically false,' a spokesperson said."

Crow's line of questioning culminated in a back-and-forth where Hegseth snapped at the Democrat, calling his line of questioning a "cute waste of your five minutes."

Crow previously served as an Army Ranger and in the elite 82nd Airborne in both Iraq and Afghanistan.