The Washington Post: Rep. Crow raises questions about role of Tim Parlatore, Hegseth adviser

A Colorado congressman on Wednesday sought to highlight Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s close relationship with a lawyer and legal adviser who once departed President Donald Trump’s legal team after internal disputes, drawing mockery from the defense secretary.

Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colorado), an Army veteran, zeroed in on the unconventional role in the Pentagon that Tim Parlatore, a Navy reservist who also has served as Hegseth’s personal attorney, has had. As The Washington Post has previously reported, Parlatore has had an outsize role under Hegseth despite serving as a mid-ranking Navy officer; he has been offering counsel to Hegseth and serving as an unofficial fixer of thorny problems.

Crow noted that Parlatore, who has clashed with several other administration officials close to the president, was able to avoid the usual process by which the administration makes appointments by working for Hegseth as a military reservist. Crow also asked if Parlatore had a security clearance, a question Hegseth declined to answer directly.

“You’re playing a gotcha game like you do on TV,” Hegseth said.

Crow then asked Hegseth if Parlatore had previously been accused of lying by Trump and his lawyers. Hegseth responded that Crow was engaged in a “cute line of questioning that’s going nowhere,” and added a moment later that Crow was “doing a little stunt.”

Crow said that he was concerned that Hegseth claims to have “unfaltering loyalty” to the president, and “repeatedly going behind President Trump’s back” to appoint people like Parlatore.

Hegseth fired back that Crow’s line of questioning was a “waste of time.”

Parlatore said in a text message to The Post on Wednesday afternoon that Crow had made “several misstatements of fact” in his line of questioning and “demonstrated a concerning lack of understanding of how the military reserves work.”