Trump defense pick Pete Hegseth paid settlement to woman who accused him of sexual assault, denies allegation
An attorney for Pete Hegseth, incoming President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Defense Department, said in a statement that Hegseth paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017 because he feared losing his job at Fox News, according to multiple reports.
Hegseth has denied the sexual assault allegation and was never charged. He paid the woman as part of a settlement agreement that included a confidentiality provision after she threatened litigation in 2020, the attorney told media outlets.
He is among a number of controversial nominees Trump has advanced for high-profile positions in his second administration. Hegseth has attracted attention for controversial views about woman serving in combat and diversity in the military, statements about firing military leadership and his lack of high-level experience in government or the national security sphere.
Hegseth, 44, worked with Fox News from 2014 until he left following the news of his nomination. He joined the Army ROTC in college and was deployed overseas with the Army National Guard after graduating, including serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Trump, who was found liable in a civil case last year for sexual abuse and defamation against the writer E Jean Carroll, is standing by Hegseth amid the revelation that he was accused of sexual assault.
"Mr. Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed," Trump transition spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement to USA TODAY last week. "We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense."
City officials in Monterey, California, released a statement Thursday confirming Hegseth's involvement in an investigation into an alleged sexual assault, without disclosing substantial details on the incident or who the allegations were against.
According to the police statement, the incident occurred sometime overnight between Oct. 7-8, 2017. The address listed on the report is that of the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa on Del Monte Golf Course. The incident was reported to police four days later, the release stated.
A woman who says she is a friend of Hegseth's accuser sent a four-page memo to the Trump transition team recently laying out the allegations against the president-elect's pick to lead the Pentagon.
The memo, which was obtained by the Washington Post and confirmed in other reports, says the 30-year-old woman was at the hotel with the California Federation of Republican Women, a group Hegseth was speaking to. She was staying at the hotel with her husband and children, and was responsible for getting Hegseth back to his room in time after his speech and to the airport in time the next day.
The woman's memory of what she alleges happened with Hegseth is "hazy," according to the memo, but the next day she "had a moment of hazy memory of being raped the night before, and had a panic attack." She was examined at an emergency room.
Hegseth's attorney Timothy Parlatore said in a statement to USA TODAY Sunday that "Mr. Hegseth is completely innocent."
"He was cleared after a police investigation determined that the woman was the aggressor in the situation and was then the subject of blackmail," Parlatore alleged, declining to provide additional details when asked why Hegseth agreed to a financial settlement.
Kinsey Crowley contributed to this report
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump defense pick Hegseth paid assault accuser, denies allegation