In a dramatic rebuttal that has quickly gone viral, former Defense nominee Pete Hegseth has decisively shut down a hit piece by ProPublica, presenting irrefutable evidence that proves his account of being accepted to West Point. Hegseth, a combat veteran and Bronze Star recipient nominated by President Trump for Secretary of Defense in his second term, has long maintained that he was offered admission to the United States Military Academy in 1999—a claim that ProPublica sought to debunk.

ProPublica’s investigative report alleged that Hegseth had never even applied to West Point, aiming to discredit him by portraying his statement as a fabrication. According to the report, West Point officials were quoted on multiple occasions stating that Hegseth was not accepted to the academy. The hit piece was intended to cast doubt on his integrity, a move that Hegseth’s supporters argue is politically motivated.

However, Hegseth swiftly countered these claims on X (formerly Twitter) by sharing a scanned copy of his West Point acceptance letter. “We understand that ProPublica (the Left Wing hack group) is planning to publish a knowingly false report that I was not accepted to West Point in 1999. Here’s my letter of acceptance signed by West Point Superintendent, Lieutenant General Daniel Christman, US Army,” Hegseth declared in his post. His bold move not only undermined the report but also called into question the accuracy of the information provided by West Point’s public affairs.

Following Hegseth’s post, ProPublica Senior Editor Jesse Eisinger tweeted a response stating, “Hegseth has said that he got into West Point but didn’t attend. We asked West Pt public affairs, which told us twice on the record that he hadn’t even applied there. We reached out. Hegseth’s spox gave us his acceptance letter. We didn’t publish a story. That’s journalism.” This admission led to further scrutiny of the military academy’s statements, as critics began to question why West Point had provided conflicting information.