Crow Presses Secretary Pete Hegseth Over Defense Department Corruption, Conflicts of Interest

April 30, 2026 Press Release WASHINGTON — Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO), a former paratrooper and Army Ranger, pressed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth about conflicts of interest swirling around a top advisor Hegseth described as a “long term friend” and “great patriot” during his appearance before the House Armed Services Committee. While serving at the Pentagon, Special Advisor to the Secretary of Defense Tim Parlatore maintains a private law practice that represents clients who may have business before the U.S. Government and benefit from having an attorney with close personal ties to the Secretary. When asked about Parlatore’s conflicts of interest, Hegseth refused to answer whether Parlatore represents and profits off clients from foreign governments or whether he represents and profits off U.S. military officers who are under consideration for promotions by Hegseth. Secretary Hegseth commissioned Parlatore into the Navy Reserve in March 2025, bypassing vetting and oversight by the White House Presidential Personnel Office and the U.S. Senate. Hegseth’s decision to keep Parlatore at the Pentagon despite conflicts of interest is indicative of his failed leadership for servicemembers and the American people. CONGRESSMAN CROW: He [Parlatore] maintains a private law practice, does he represent foreign governments or foreign persons in that private law practice? SECRETARY HEGSETH: Uhh, I don’t know. CONGRESSMAN CROW: You don’t know? Somebody who is sitting in your meetings, a special advisor, you don’t know? Image Parlatore previously worked as Hegseth’s personal attorney when he faced sexual assault allegations , has represented soldiers accused of war crimes and former members of the mob, and hired and commended lawyers who worked for Jeffrey Epstein . Despite his unknown ties to foreign entities, Parlatore was also on an unsecured Signal thread where Secretary Hegseth shared classified information about strikes in Yemen with his wife, brother, and other close associates last year. Parlatore, who was also once a member of President Trump’s legal team, has been accused by the President’s team of lying and was reportedly described by the President as “ unstable .” The White House removed him and Secretary Hegseth from overseeing investigations into former DoD aides because of their inability to remain objective. A transcript of the exchange is provided below and can be viewed here . CONGRESSMAN JASON CROW: Mr. Secretary, I want to go in a little bit of a different direction. Timothy Parlatore served as your private attorney, correct? SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH: Correct. CROW: And Mr. Parlatore also served as private attorney for President Trump's campaign, correct? HEGSETH: I'm not privy to every professional position that he's held. CROW: I'll help you out, he did. And you appointed Mr. Parlatore as your senior advisor, correct? HEGSETH: He does reserve duty on behalf of the Navy, does great work. CROW: His title is senior advisor, you gave him that title, correct? HEGSETH: And I would count him as very much an advisor of mine. CROW: Yep, he travels with you, correct? [Crosstalk] HEGSETH: Tim Parlatore’s been a long term friend. He's a great patriot… CROW: He travels with you. HEGSETH :…and has traveled with me. He serves the country… CROW: That's not what I asked. He travels with you, doesn't he? HEGSETH :…he’s an excellent military lawyer. CROW: He travels with you, doesn't he, correct? There's public Instagram that shows this, just say yes. HEGSETH: Yes, of course. CROW: Okay. He sits in meetings with you and advises you, doesn't he? HEGSETH: Uhh, he sits in some meetings on occasion. CROW: Well, he maintains a desk and an office in the Pentagon, does he not? HEGSETH: I'd have to check. CROW: You don't know? HEGSETH: It's a big Pentagon. CROW: You directly commissioned Mr. Parlatore in the Naval Reserve as a Navy Commander in March 2025, did you not? HEGSETH: I was very proud to do so. CROW: And when you did, because he's a Navy Reserve Officer, he didn't have to go through the PPO process, the White House Presidential Personnel Office, right? He wasn't vetted by White House PPO. HEGSETH: Uniformed service members don't get vetted by.... CROW: The answer is yes, he didn't have to be vetted by White House PPO. He didn't go through the Senate confirmation process either did he? The answer is no. [Crosstalk] HEGSETH: I don't know what you're getting to, but Tim is a fantastic... CROW: I'll tell you what I'm getting to… HEGSETH: …he does great work. CROW: …the answer is no, right? HEGSETH: He does great work. CROW: Okay. He didn't maintain a security clearance when you appointed him as special advisor, is that right? HEGSETH: I'd have to check. CROW: You don't know? HEGSETH: I mean, anybody that has access to sensitive material is going to have the appropriate clearance. CROW: Okay, so when you appointed him as special advisor, he had a security clearance? [Crosstalk] HEGSETH: I don't, you're trying to piece together a timeframe… CROW: No, I'm asking a simple question... HEGSETH: …that I can’t give you exact dates for. CROW: …one of your special, most sensitive advisors, did he have a security clearance? HEGSETH: No, you're playing a gotcha game like you do on TV… CROW: I’m asking questions. HEGSETH …everywhere else you're trying to thread together details… CROW: Clearly you're concerned... HEGSETH: …that aren’t connected about something else. CROW: …clearly you're concerned about my line of questioning, aren't you, Mr. Secretary, because you know where it's going, don't you? I think you do. So does Mr. Parlatore represent foreign governments? He has a private law practice, does he not? HEGSETH: From what I understand of his law practice, he does a lot of great work for servicemembers in the military and others. CROW: He maintains a private law practice. Does he represent foreign governments or foreign persons in that private law practice? HEGSETH: Uhh, I don’t know. CROW: You don’t know? Somebody who is sitting in your meetings, a special advisor, you don’t know? Does he represent any senior officers who are currently under consideration for promotion by you or your office? HEGSETH: The only person that makes determinations about senior officers is me. CROW: Answer the question. Does he represent senior officers who are under consideration for promotion by you? [Crosstalk] HEGSETH: No, I'm the one that makes decisions about choosing… CROW: Does he represent them, Mr. Secretary? HEGSETH: …and finding senior officers. CROW: Does he represent them? HEGSETH: He doesn’t represent anyone. He's a legal advisor and always has been. CROW: But he has clients, does he not? HEGSETH: He's a legal advisor to me on reserve duty, and he always has been and he does a fantastic job. [Crosstalk] CROW: Is it true that Mr. Parlatore was removed… HEGSETH: You’re playing a losing hand whatever your… CROW: …I reclaim my time. Is it true that Mr. Parlatore was removed from an investigation by the White House last year? HEGSETH: I don't know what you're referring to, but not that I'm aware of. CROW: You're not aware of it. Well is it true that you were also removed from that same investigation? The answer is yes. HEGSETH: Uhh, no, not that I'm aware of. CROW: You're not aware of it, that's interesting. Well, is it true that Mr. Parlatore disparaged President Trump? HEGSETH: Uhh, I don't know what you're referring to but no. CROW: Is it true that Mr. Parlatore was accused by President Trump and his lawyers of lying? HEGSETH: What you're accused of is a cute line of questioning that's going nowhere. CROW: Well it's going somewhere, which is why you're not answering the question. Was it true that he was accused of lying by the President's legal team? [Crosstalk] HEGSETH: I'm not familiar, you'd have to give me the context of the article... CROW: Well it’s right here, you want to look at the statement from President Trump’s legal team.. HEGSETH: …anyone can blow up a quote and claim it says something, and that's what you're doing in a little stunt CROW: Secretary Hegseth, what I'm really concerned about is you purport to have unfaltering loyalty to President Trump, and yet you are continuously... HEGSETH: Oh, you care a lot about President Trump, don't you? CROW: …I reclaim my time. You’re going behind his back and appointing people… HEGSETH: This is a cute waste of your five minutes... CROW: …I reclaim my time. HEGSETH: …a huge cute waste of your five minutes that led nowhere. CROW: I reclaim my time. You are repeatedly going behind President Trump's back, appointing people who he has accused of lying, who the White House has accused of lying, and you are not being honest with President Trump. ### Issues : National Security