Pete HegsethPresident-elect Donald Trump’s choice defense minister, I paid the woman who She accused him of sexual assault To avoid the threat of a baseless lawsuit, according to Hegseth’s attorney.
Hegseth was accused of sexual assault in 2017 after she appeared at a Republican women’s event in Monterey, California, according to the British Daily Mail. Statement issued by the city. No charges were filed.
His attorney, Tim Parlatore, told The Associated Press on Sunday that the sexual encounter was consensual and that the woman who filed the accusation days later was the “aggressor.” This assertion was not confirmed in the statement issued by the city.
Parlatore said the woman was paid as part of a confidential settlement a few years after a police investigation Hegseth He believes a lawsuit could have gotten him fired from Fox News, where he was then a popular anchor. Parlatore did not disclose the amount of the payment.
“He was falsely accused and my position is that he was the victim of extortion,” Parlatore said, calling it a case of “successful extortion.”
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The Washington Post previously published details of the payment. The newspaper also reported that it had obtained a copy of a memo sent to the Trump transition team last week by a woman who said she was a friend of the accuser that detailed sexual assault allegations.
Trump’s transition team had no immediate comment Sunday on the memo.
According to the city’s statement, the person who reported the assault – whose name, age and gender were not revealed – was suffering from bruises on his right thigh. The person told police there were no weapons in the confrontation.
The incident occurred sometime between 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 7 and 7 a.m. the next morning, according to a city statement.
Hegseth was in Monterey at the time to address the California Federation of Republican Women during a dinner held at the group’s biennial conference, according to social media posts and promotional materials from the time.
Monterey officials said they were withholding further details in the police report because it included analyzes and conclusions reached by law enforcement officials that are exempt from release under the state’s public records law.
At the time of the accusations in 2017, Hegseth, now 44, was going through a divorce from his second wife, with whom he had three children. She filed for divorce after having a child with the Fox News producer who is now his wife, according to court records and Hegseth’s social media posts. His first marriage ended in 2009, after Hegseth also cheated, according to court records.
After the accusations first surfaced last week, Stephen Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump transition administration, issued a statement saying that the president-elect “is nominating highly qualified and highly qualified candidates to serve in his administration.”
“Mr. Hegseth has vehemently denied all accusations, and no charges have been brought against him. We look forward to his confirmation as Secretary of Defense of the United States so he can hit the ground running on day one to make America safe and great again,” Cheung said.
& Edition 2024 The Canadian Press
