Trump’s Defense Secretary-elect Pete Hegseth Paid Prosecutor But Denies 2017 Assault, Lawyer Says

CNN
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New President Donald Trump’s chosen Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, paid a woman to do just that accused him of sexual abuse in a settlement agreement that included a confidentiality clause, Hegseth’s attorney said.

Attorney Timothy Parlatore said Hegseth denies assaulting the woman and has characterized the October 2017 incident in Monterey, California, as a “consensual sexual encounter.”

Monterey city officials confirmed last week that local police had investigated “an alleged sexual assault” involving Hegseth. The city declined to release information about the victim and said it would not release the full police report or comment further on the investigation, citing the state’s public records law.

Hegseth has not been charged in any criminal case nor named as a defendant in any civil lawsuit in connection with the incident.

In 2020, Hegseth learned that the woman was considering filing a lawsuit, Parlatore said in a statement to CNN.

Parlatore said the payment to the married woman was “a significantly smaller amount” and that Hegseth, a veteran turned Fox News host, settled because it was during the “Me Too” movement and he left his job at didn’t want to lose the company. network if the accusation becomes public. The attorney’s statement did not say how much Hegseth’s accuser paid in the settlement.

Parlatore said Hegseth felt he was the victim of blackmail.

CNN spoke briefly with the alleged victim on Thursday. She became visibly distraught at the mention of Hegseth’s name, but declined to be interviewed without first contacting her attorney. She said she didn’t know what to say.

The woman, whom CNN is not naming because she is an alleged victim of sexual assault, did not respond to subsequent requests to be interviewed. The settlement and confidentiality clause were first reported by the Washington Post on Saturday evening.

The alleged attack occurred in the early morning hours of Oct. 8, 2017, at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa address, and was reported by the woman four days later, according to the city’s statement. Hegseth was a speaker at a conference held at a hotel by the California Federation of Republican Women around the time the alleged attack occurred.

The Monterey City statement added that no weapons were involved, but there were injuries — “bruises to the right thigh” — without providing further details.

Trump selected Hegseth last week as his defense secretary nominee despite him having no senior military or public office experience, surprising both Pentagon officials and the former president’s own allies. Trump’s announcement was quickly followed by news of the alleged assault, which was also noted by the president-elect transition team overwhelmed, CNN reported this on Friday.

Trump’s communications director defended Hegseth in an earlier statement to CNN, saying he “vehemently denied all allegations and no charges have been filed.”

“We look forward to his appointment as United States Secretary of Defense so he can get to work on day one to make America safe and great again,” said Steven Cheung.

CNN’s Kyung Lah and Scott Glover contributed to this report.