Trump's pick for the Pentagon was investigated for alleged sexual abuse

Donald Trump’s pick for US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was under investigation over a 2017 sexual assault allegation, officials in California have confirmed.

Hegseth has never been arrested or charged and denies wrongdoing.

“These allegations were fully investigated and Mr Hegseth was acquitted,” his lawyer told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner. “This should not have any impact on the confirmation process.”

Hegseth, a Fox News host and veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, was one surprising choice for the top defense job due to his lack of management experience.

City officials in Monterey, California released a statement Thursday evening said they were investigating an alleged sexual assault at a hotel in the coastal city in October 2017.

The statement provided few details other than a report of alleged sexual abuse that was reported four days after the incident allegedly occurred at the hotel. The police report noted that there were no weapons or property involved and that the complainant had “bruises to the right thigh.”

“The City of Monterey will make no other comments regarding this investigation,” officials said.

News of the study was first reported by Vanity Fair magazine.

Along with Trump’s other Cabinet picks, Hegseth will face hearings and a confirmation vote in the Republican-controlled Senate.

“President Trump is nominating highly qualified and extremely qualified candidates for his administration,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said. “Mr Hegseth has strongly denied all allegations and no charges have been filed.”

If Hegseth is confirmed for his role by the US Senate, he will arrive at the Pentagon with decisions to make on issues such as military aid to Israel during its campaign in Gaza, and support for Ukraine in light of the Russian invasion.

The U.S. Department of Defense has a budget of nearly $900 billion and includes 2.9 million civilians and military personnel around the world.

A conservative culture warrior, he has pledged to transform the military but has faced questions about his management experience, though his supporters have argued he would bring change to the Pentagon.

Hegseth, 44, has been critical of diversity programs and women serving in combat roles in the military.

On a recent podcast, he said that every “general, admiral, whatever was involved in any of the DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) woke (expletive)” should be fired.

And he said women should not serve in combat roles because, he argued, it did not make the military “more effective” or “lethal.”

“Throughout human history, men in those positions have been more capable,” he said.

Hegseth, a member of the Minnesota National Guard, was retired as an officer in Washington DC during Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration.

In a book published earlier this year, he said he was rejected because of his tattoos, which included a Jerusalem cross and another reading ‘Deus Vult’ – Latin for ‘God wills it’.

Both the cross and the phrase were used by Christian warriors during the Crusades. In modern times, they are used by right-wing Christians and Christian nationalists — as well as extremist, neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups, researchers say. Hegseth has denied any connection to extremists.

Hegseth has seven children, including a daughter born in August 2017 with Jennifer Rauchet, a Fox producer with whom he reportedly had an extramarital affair. He later married Rauchet, his third wife.