Pete Hegseth Swigs Champagne on Live TV in Resurfaced Clip After Challenging Critics to 'Check Every Tape' to Prove He's Been 'Drunk on Air'

Department of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth was seen drinking straight from a bottle of champagne and letting himself be dunked into an alcohol-filled tank in a resurfaced clip from Fox News' All American New Year Live from Nashville.

In the clip, Hegseth, 44, was joined by his wife, Jennifer Rauchet, and his children on stage to celebrate the 2023 New Year as he said, "Tonight it's bottoms up with all of us up here."

Hegseth then learned he was chosen to be dropped into a dunk tank. According Meidas Touch, several Fox News hosts claimed the tank had been filled with champagne and were even seen pouring bottles into it. Hegseth was swiftly dunked, and when he came up for air, he "took a swig from the bottle" and "proceeded to scoop champagne from the dunk tank into his mouth," per the outlet.

The tv personality then reportedly joked, "I'm going to take one more drink if that's ok," before he submerged himself into the champagne again.

This comes as Hegseth continues to dodge claims he has a drinking problem — especially after several current and former Fox News employees reportedly claimed they'd "smelled alcohol on him before he went on air" and heard him talk about being "hungover" on set.

Hegseth accused NBC of making up the anonymous sources from the news network before urging critics to "check every tape" to find evidence of him "drunk on air."

However, it is unclear if Hegseth was actually intoxicated at the New Year's Eve event. The resurfaced video only appears to be evidence he was drinking on live television while celebrating the holiday, unless the dunk tank and contents of the bottle were not actually champagne.

As OK! previously reported, Hegseth also denied having a problem with alcohol to Megyn Kelly during a recent appearance on her show.

"No one’s ever approached me and said, you should really look at getting help for a drink. Never," he said. "I’ve never sought counseling, never sought help. I respect and appreciate people who— who do."

Hegseth, who was formerly an Army National Guard officer, admitted many people who "come back from war" deal with "the demons you see on the battlefield" with alcohol.

"Unfortunately, tragically, for too many guys, it’s with the bottle and then it’s depression and even worse, suicide," he continued. "I mean, we’ve got an epidemic of that in our country. Thank God, by the grace of God, I found my chapters of purpose. They pulled me out of that."