Newly released records from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point offer insight into the December 2024 controversy surrounding Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s admission status—and show that the confusion was the result of an internal oversight, not a media smear campaign.
On December 11, Hegseth claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that ProPublica was preparing to publish a “knowingly false” story alleging he had never been accepted to West Point. But according to ProPublica, they had only asked Hegseth to respond to a statement made by a West Point public affairs official, who mistakenly said Hegseth hadn’t applied to the academy at all.
Hegseth quickly released an old acceptance letter to defend his record, and Republicans seized on the misstep—accusing both West Point and the press of trying to discredit the defense secretary. Now, internal emails obtained by Business Insider through a Freedom of Information Act request show what actually happened behind the scenes.
On December 10, West Point staffers were scrambling to verify Hegseth’s claim. After reviewing the acceptance letter he provided, one staffer wrote, “Look what they now provided??” Another, whose name was redacted, responded skeptically: “Anyone can generate an acceptance letter… doesn’t mean it’s legit.” “Very true,” replied Theresa Brinkerhoff, a West Point public affairs official.
But by that afternoon, the error became clear. “He’s in there,” a staffer wrote in another email, referring to Hegseth’s record. They had located his name in an “old archived table,” one that hadn’t been checked initially. “The record shows that he declined the offer,” the staffer added.
Hegseth ultimately attended Princeton University, where he studied politics, played basketball, and joined the ROTC. He later served in the Army National Guard and built a career in conservative media and activism before being nominated as defense secretary. His confirmation process was rocky, with allegations of misconduct and alcohol abuse—claims he denied while vowing to stop drinking.
Despite the internal discovery, the false narrative lingered for another day. At 8:10 a.m. on December 11, Hegseth again accused ProPublica of preparing to publish a false report. Yet that same day, West Point communications chief Terrence Kelley emailed ProPublica to apologize, calling the mistake “inadvertent.”
Kelley told colleagues it was crucial to notify ProPublica officially that Hegseth’s claim was accurate: “Confirming Hegseth’s claim probably kills any interest ProPublica has in the story,” he wrote. “But the longer we delay response, the more likely that becomes a story.”
ProPublica never published the report. In a later statement, the newsroom explained: “Reporters do their job by asking tough questions to people in power, which is exactly what happened here. Responsible news organizations only publish what they can verify, which is why we didn’t publish a story once Mr. Hegseth provided documentation.”
By the afternoon of the 11th, West Point was fielding inquiries from at least eight media outlets. That same day, Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) requested an internal review of how the incorrect information was released.
West Point publicly admitted fault. “The academy takes this situation seriously and apologizes for this administrative error,” the school said in a statement. Kelley later told Business Insider that the academy had implemented stricter review protocols to prevent similar incidents. “We regret the error and are committed to ensuring it does not happen again.”
Neither the Pentagon nor Senator Cotton responded to requests for comment.
