'You are repeatedly going behind the president's back!' Hegseth accused of lying to Trump

A Democratic lawmaker accused Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of lying to President Donald Trump during a heated congressional hearing on Wednesday.

Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), a former Army Ranger who served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, raised questions about attorney Tim Parlatore and a potential conflict of interest. He pressed Hegseth during a fiery exchange over whether Parlatore was appointed and asking if Parlatore was removed from a White House investigation in 2025. Hegseth denied the accusations, saying he wasn't aware of it, and claimed he was also not removed from the investigation.

"You're not aware of it. That's interesting. Well, is it true that Mr. Parlatore disparaged President Trump?" Crow asked.

Hegseth again said that he wasn't aware of the investigation, smiling and appearing to laugh.

"Is it true that Mr. Parlatore was accused by President Trump and his lawyers of lying?" Crow asked.

Hegseth appeared annoyed by the questions.

"What you're accused of is a cute line of questioning that's going nowhere," Hegseth said, referring to Crow's questions as "a stunt."

Crow pushed back on Hegseth's comments.

"Secretary Hegseth, what I'm really concerned about is you purport to have unfaltering loyalty to President Trump, and yet you are continuously going..." Crow said.

Hegseth was angry with the comment and interjected Crow's questions.

"Oh you care a lot about President Trump, don't you? This is a cute, huge waste of your five minutes," Hegseth said.

Crow didn't stand down against the Pentagon chief.

"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," Crow said.