Source Behind Hegseth Claims Is Disgruntled Former Employee

A former Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) employee is privately helping Senate Democrats solicit hostile testimony about her former boss, Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be the country’s next defense secretary.

The former employee, Kat Dugan, worked at CVA for eight months while Hegseth served as CEO of the organization, and has sent messages to former CVA colleagues urging them to contact the Senate Armed Services Committee and assuring them they can do so anonymously. She has also provided closed-door testimony to the committee, according to correspondence obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Dugan, formerly Kathleen Volandt, received a poor performance review in 2014 when she was serving as CVA’s North Carolina state director. Shortly thereafter, she filed for short-term disability, then long-term disability, and ultimately tendered her resignation in December 2014. Shawn Pattison, who served as CVA’s national field director at the time, told the Free Beacon that Dugan "consistently fell short of performance expectations." A copy of her performance review reviewed by the Free Beacon substantiates that assessment.

Pattison offered praise for Hegseth’s leadership abilities, noting that he "transformed CVA from a pilot project into the organization that delivered on [Veterans Affairs] reforms." He added: "His leadership was what pushed us" and made the job "one of the most fulfilling professional experiences I've had so far."

The text messages and documents shed new light on the high-profile opposition campaign against Hegseth, which has played out in the press and comes largely from anonymous sources. The news could also bolster claims from Hegseth and his allies, who have blamed the negative publicity on "disgruntled employees" waging a "manufactured media takedown."

In fact, this is not the first time Dugan has been linked to unflattering media reports about Hegseth. In March 2018, when Hegseth was floated as a possible nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, his lawyer sent Dugan a cease-and-desist letter accusing her of making "false and defamatory statements" about Hegseth to J. Arthur Bloom, a writer who has contributed to The Spectator, "intended to damage Mr. Hegseth’s reputation and his potential future employment prospects."

That same day the letter was sent, The Spectator published an article reporting that, while at CVA, Hegseth promoted a "fraternity-like culture that involved heavy drinking" and turned a blind eye to a sexual assault complaint against another employee. The story, which cited unnamed sources, was published under the magazine’s pseudonymous byline "Cockburn." The headline asked, "Is Pete Hegseth Really a Suitable Candidate for Secretary of Veterans Affairs?"

Bloom declined to comment on whether he wrote the article, which made reference to a "sexual assault complaint" filed by a female CVA employee. He did, however, share a copy of a letter that Dugan wrote to an attorney two months after departing CVA regarding that sexual assault complaint—which did not pertain to Hegseth—in which Dugan described a "sexist and drinking culture" that "set the stage for this kind of incident."

The Free Beacon spoke to the CVA staffer who filed the sexual assault complaint and whose name is being withheld in this article. She said that her complaint involved another male employee and that she did not experience broader problems with the organization or with Hegseth.

Dugan, she said, has contacted her "a few times" to ask her to talk to the Senate Armed Services Committee about Hegseth, but she has declined. She told the Free Beacon her complaint was resolved internally years ago and that Hegseth had no involvement in the matter.

In recent weeks, several news reports, most prominently a piece in the New Yorker by Jane Mayer, have accused Hegseth of drinking heavily while working at CVA and as a Fox News host, of promoting a misogynistic work environment, and of mismanaging corporate funds, accusations that echo those aired in The Spectator six years ago.

"A previously undisclosed whistle-blower report on Hegseth’s tenure as the president of Concerned Veterans for America, from 2013 until 2016, describes him as being repeatedly intoxicated while acting in his official capacity—to the point of needing to be carried out of the organization’s events," Mayer wrote.

Both Bloom, now a self-employed blogger, and Dugan, who now appears to sell health tinctures online, remain staunch opponents of Hegseth.

Bloom published a piece on his Substack urging the New Yorker’s Mayer to hit Hegseth "harder" and charged that his nomination is garnering support from GOP senators because he is pro-Israel, or, as Bloom put it, "on the right side of the Likud crime syndicate." (He has also accused Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro of loyalty to Israel over the United States.)

Dugan, meanwhile, has pressed former colleagues to contact Democratic committee aide Jonathan Clark and assured them their anonymity will be protected. "When calling, state ‘I am calling as a whistleblower and understand that my identity will be protected’ once confirmation is received, simply state any information. They are asking for any supporting documents," she wrote in a message obtained by the Free Beacon, adding that whistleblower laws ensure that "anyone speaking to the below contact is strictly anonymous and CANNOT be subpoenaed to testify IF a confirmation hearing proceeds."

Hegseth allies, who claim Dugan is the source of anonymous negative stories about him dating back to 2018, say her rocky employment history with CVA raises questions about her credibility and the motivations for her claims, arguing that she was a poor performer and left the organization on bad terms.

Dugan was employed by CVA for eight months, starting in April 2014.

In October 2014, before Dugan left the organization, Nathan Martin, Dugan’s direct supervisor, wrote in a performance review that Dugan’s work was "lackluster as compared to other state directors," according to a copy obtained by the Free Beacon.

"Her ability to lead a team is average, at best. Whether it is focusing on the wrong faults, not praising the right strengths, or personality conflicts, her leadership is rather ineffective," the review stated. "While it may seem odd, I do believe there is potential to lead in almost everyone. However, it has not manifested itself in tangential [sic] form with Kathleen."

Hegseth, according to Martin, "worked very hard to make sure the organization did well."

"I’ve always considered him an exceptional leader," he told the Free Beacon.

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