By Jeremy Herb, Lauren Fox and Manu Raju, CNN

(CNN) — Pete Hegseth’s former sister-in-law gave an affidavit to the Senate Armed Services Committee accusing him of being “abusive” toward his second ex-wife, according to a copy of the affidavit obtained by CNN.

The allegations against Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be defense secretary, became public Tuesday, a week after his confirmation hearing and one day after the Senate Armed Services Committee approved his nomination on a party-line vote, sending it to the full Senate.

Danielle Hegseth, who was married to Hegseth’s brother from 2011 to 2019, wrote in the affidavit that Hegseth was “abusive” toward his ex-wife, Samantha Hegseth. She did not specify the nature of the abuse and said she did “not personally witness physical or sexual abuse by Hegseth.” Danielle Hegseth wrote that Samantha Hegseth at times feared for her safety and that she had a code word if she needed help to get away from her husband. She said she once received a text from Samantha Hegseth with the code word sometime in 2015 or 2016. The affidavit also alleged that she witnessed Hegseth abusing alcohol at multiple family gatherings, and that she also witnessed him drinking to excess in public twice during 2013.

“I have chosen to come forward publicly, at significant personal sacrifice, because I am deeply concerned by what Hegseth’s confirmation would mean for our military and our country and because I have been assured that making this public statement will ensure that certain Senators who are still on the fence will vote against Hegseth’s confirmation,” she wrote. “But for that assurance I would not subject myself or others referenced in this statement to the public scrutiny this statement is likely to cause.”

CNN has reached out to Samantha Hegseth for comment. She said in a statement to NBC News, which first reported the affidavit: “There was no physical abuse in my marriage. This is the only further statement I will make to you, I have let you know that I am not speaking and will not speak on my marriage to Pete. Please respect this decision.”

Tim Parlatore, a lawyer for Hegseth, said in a statement that Danielle Hegseth is a lifelong Democrat and used to pick fights with family because she was a Democrat.

“She hates Pete and there is no truth to any of this. Most of what she is saying are things she didn’t in fact witnesses, she is accusing his ex-wife of lying in her divorce proceeding and lying to the FBI,” Parlatore said in the statement. “She shared this info during his background check and FBI followed up and was unable to find corroboration.”

Hegseth’s nomination has already been endangered by allegations including sexual assault and excessive drinking in the workplace that emerged after he was selected by Trump to lead the Pentagon in November. Hegseth has repeatedly denied all allegations of misconduct, including having a drinking problem, but has said he would not drink while serving as secretary of defense if he’s confirmed.

There’s no indication yet whether the new allegations would impact Hegseth’s chances of winning confirmation, but his chances remain solid. While the vote is expected to be close, four Senate Republicans would have to defect to stop Hegseth’s nomination, and none have emerged following his confirmation hearing last week. Two swing votes, Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, have yet to take a position.

In her affidavit, Danielle Hegseth wrote that she was providing the affidavit at the request of Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. She said that she had spoken to the FBI as part of the agency’s background investigation of the defense secretary nominee, first in December and again last week on January 18.

On January 18, Reed wrote a letter to Danielle Hegseth requesting any information she had about allegations of abuse, mistreatment of a spouse or public drunkenness related to Pete Hegseth.

“It has come to our attention that you may have information relating to matters of interest to the Committee, information that would shed light on the fitness of Mr. Hegseth to occupy this important position, particularly in the nature of his personal conduct, and potential misconduct,” Reed wrote.

In a statement, Reed said: “As I have said for months, the reports of Mr. Hegseth’s history of alleged sexual assault, alcohol abuse, and public misconduct necessitate an exhaustive background investigation. I have been concerned that the background check process has been inadequate, and this affidavit confirms my fears. The alleged pattern of abuse and misconduct by Mr. Hegseth is disturbing. This behavior would disqualify any servicemember from holding any leadership position in the military, much less being confirmed as the Secretary of Defense.”

Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker told CNN he believed Hegseth’s ex-sister-in-law has an axe to grind.

“I have not reviewed the document. My reaction is that I have grave doubts as to the substance,” Wicker told CNN, citing the statements attributed to Hegseth’s ex-wife.

“I think the nomination is going to forward by Thursday,” he said, suggesting that’s when a key procedural vote would occur and that a final confirmation vote could occur over the weekend, if not sooner.

But several Senate Democrats argued that the allegations showed that Hegseth is unqualified to be defense secretary – and complained that it was not included in the FBI’s background investigation briefed to Armed Services leaders.

“This is not an anonymous smear,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat. “The fact that this person came forward and talks about his erratic behavior and his drunkenness, none of this was disclosed in the FBI report that was only available to the chair and ranking member.”

Sen. Joni Ernst, one of the Republicans who had initially expressed concerns about Hegseth’s nomination but ultimately said she would support him, told CNN Tuesday the affidavit is “from his sister-in-law, and the wife has said it did not happen. So we can move on.”

Ernst said she thinks that Hegseth has the Republican votes to be confirmed.

“The sooner the better. We really need someone at that post,” she said.

Samantha Hegseth filed for divorce from Pete Hegseth in 2017, one month after Fox executive producer Jennifer Rauchet gave birth to Hegseth’s baby. Hegseth and Rauchet married in 2019.

Records from the divorce case in Minnesota show the couple accused each other of saying hurtful things to their children about the other parent. A court-appointed parenting consultant chastised Pete Hegseth in one letter for his conduct around his sons, writing that he had shown “hostile and degrading communication” toward Samantha.

A judge’s order filed in the divorce stated, “Neither parent claims to be a victim of domestic abuse.”

In a statement to CNN, Danielle Hegseth’s lawyer Leita Walker said: “Danielle will not be commenting beyond her statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee, which required much courage. She asks for respect for her privacy and the privacy of those she cares about including Pete Hegseth’s former wives and children.”

CNN’s Paula Reid, Jim Scuitto, Natasha Bertrand, Kit Maher, Curt Devine and Ali Main contributed to this story.

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