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FIRST ON FOX: The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is apologizing after an employee mistakenly said Pete Hegseth was not accepted to the historic military college, and now a lawmaker is demanding accountability.
Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., accused West Point administrators of trying to “sabotage” Hegseth. nomination to be President-elect Trump’s secretary of defense.
The banks are now asking for information about how the error was allowed to happen.
“As you know, ProPublica reporter Jesse Eisinger had been preparing to publish a story falsely claiming that Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth was lying when he said he was accepted to West Point but decided not to attend” , Banks wrote.
“To avoid the publication of a blatantly false story, Hegseth released his West Point acceptance letter, proving the veracity of his claim and leading ProPublica to kill the story. Eisinger defended his reporting, stating that West Point OPA told him “twice on the record” that Hegseth had not even applied to West Point.
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Rep. Jim Banks, left, demands to know how West Point was able to “mistakenly” tell a reporter that Pete Hegseth was not accepted. (Getty Images)
“This is outrageous West Point officials would so grossly interfere in a political process and make false claims about a presidential candidate,” he continued.
“Even in the unlikely scenario of OPA mistakenly making false claims not once but twice, it is an act of inexcusable incompetence that OPA did not fully ensure that its information was accurate before sharing – her with a journalist”.
Banks asked the school to turn over to Congress “all communication and documentation regarding how West Point OPA falsely accused Hegseth of lying about his application.”
When reached for comment, West Point apologized for the error and said academy records indicated Hegseth was accepted in 1999 but did not attend.
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President-elect Trump selected Hegseth to be his defense secretary. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“An employee posted an incorrect statement implying Hegseth’s admission to the US Military Academy on December 10, 2024. After reviewing an archived database, employees realized this statement was in error .Hegseth was offered acceptance to West Point as a potential member of the class of 2003. The academy takes this situation seriously and apologizes for this error. administrative,” West Point’s Communications Directorate said. he said
Hegseth is an Army National Guard veteran who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It comes as it has continued meeting with senators as part of the confirmation process to join the next Trump administration.
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Banks, an Army veteran, has been a staunch Hegseth ally. His support will be critical next year, after winning a landslide victory in November to become Indiana’s next senator.
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Eisinger, editor of ProPublica, defended the outlet’s handling of the situation in a long series of posts about X.
“No, we’re not publishing a story. This is how journalism should work. Hear something. Check something. Repeat steps 1 and 2 as many times as necessary. The end,” he said.
Banks told Fox News Digital, “Pete Hegseth is going to shake up the DOD and remove the wake from our military and military academies. This upsets the bureaucrats at West Point, who now seem to be trying to sabotage his nomination.”
