Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s decide for protection secretary, paid a lady who accused him of sexual assault in 2017 as a part of a settlement settlement, an lawyer for Hegseth mentioned in an announcement on Saturday.
Tim Parlatore, a lawyer for the Fox Information star, mentioned within the assertion that Hegseth settled in December 2020 solely as a result of he feared his profession would undergo if her allegations have been made public. Parlatore mentioned Hegseth was the sufferer of “blackmail” and “false claims of sexual assault” by an unidentified lady after a Republican girls’s conference in California on Oct. 7, 2017.
“Understanding that it was the peak of the MeToo motion and any public accusation would end in his rapid termination from Fox, Mr. Hegseth finally determined to enter right into a settlement for a considerably diminished quantity,” based on the assertion.
U.S. President Donald Trump is interviewed by Fox and Pals co-host Pete Hegseth on the White Home in Washington, U.S. April 6, 2017.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
In Parlatore’s telling, Hegseth met the lady an occasion afterparty, the place he turned “visibly intoxicated.” The girl “led him by the arm to his resort room” the place the 2 engaged in a “consensual sexual encounter.”
“The complainant was the aggressor in initiating sexual exercise,” Parlatore wrote.
As ABC Information has beforehand reported, the lady filed a police report days later however no costs have been filed. Two years later, based on Parlatore, the lady “started to make noise about submitting a lawsuit in opposition to Mr. Hegseth.” Her co-workers “warned us of the risk,” prompting Hegseth and his authorized workforce to ship her a cease-and-desist letter.
Parlatore didn’t reveal the quantity of the settlement.
In line with The Washington Publish, Parlatore’s assertion — which was first reported by the newspaper — got here after a buddy of the alleged sufferer despatched a memo to Trump transition officers final week drawing their consideration to the incident.
Pete Hegseth walks to an elevator for a gathering with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, Dec. 15, 2016.
Evan Vucci/AP
The memo, which ABC Information has not obtained or reviewed, reportedly mentioned that the lady — who was described by the Publish as a then-30-year-old conservative group staffer — was liable for making certain that Hegseth made it again to his resort room on the finish of the night time.
In a submit on X [linked], Trump’s workforce mentioned the president-elect is standing by Hegseth.
“Mr. Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no costs have been filed,” Stephen Cheung, Trump’s communications director, mentioned. “We stay up for his affirmation as United States Secretary of Protection.”
Trump’s workforce has not replied to ABC Information’ request for remark. The one that despatched the memo to the transition workforce didn’t reply to requests for remark from The Publish.
In line with the memo, two different girls summoned her over when Hegseth turned “pushy about his curiosity in taking them upstairs to his room.”
After the 2 different girls left, the lady “did not keep in mind something till she was in Hegseth’s resort room after which stumbling to seek out her resort room.” The subsequent day, she “had a second of hazy reminiscence of being raped the night time earlier than, and had a panic assault,” the memo learn.
The girl then went to an emergency room the place a rape-kit examination “was optimistic for semen,” the Publish reported the memo mentioned.
Monterey metropolis officers mentioned in an announcement that police investigated a “sexual assault” that allegedly occurred within the early morning hours of Oct. 8, 2017, at a Hyatt Regency. The incident didn’t contain a weapon, however the sufferer allegedly suffered “contusions to proper thigh.”
Hegseth is just not recognized within the metropolis’s assertion because the alleged assailant. The sufferer’s identify and age are listed as “confidential.”
A police report was filed days later, on Oct. 12. A Monterey Superior Court docket spokesperson instructed ABC Information on Thursday there no data on file with Hegseth’s identify as a celebration.
