Pete Hegseth revealed to the Senate Armed Services Committee that he paid $50,000 to a woman who accused him of sexual assault.
Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Defense shared the details of his settlement with the unnamed accuser in a letter that was obtained by CNN. A police report released earlier this year outlined the allegations from 2017 in detail. The then 30-year-old woman was a staffer for a California Republican group. Hegseth's accuser said she met the former Fox News host when he was a keynote speaker at a Republican women's conference. The unnamed woman said that her memory got "fuzzy" after having a drink but she "remembered saying 'no' a lot.” Hegseth admitted to having sex with the unidentified woman but has maintained that their encounter was consensual. Monterey Police ultimately didn’t file charges against the Trump nominee.
Hegseth’s settlement with his accuser has been public knowledge since November when it was revealed by the Washington Post. Hegseth's attorney told the outlet that his client reached an agreement with the woman to avoid potential "blackmail."
"Hegseth strongly felt that he was the victim of blackmail and innocent collateral damage in a lie that the Complainant was holding onto to keep her marriage intact,” attorney Timothy Parlatore said at the time.
Parlatore took the same tack with CNN after the amount of the settlement was uncovered, saying that the case was made based on "false claims" and a settlement was reached for the sake of time.
“As we said from the beginning, these were false claims that we settled for nuisance value, much less than it would have cost to defend,” Parlatore told CNN.
Hegseth’s alleged sexual misconduct and payoff constitute some of the more serious charges against him, though Senate critics have pointed to a number of other shortcomings. Hegseth's mother wrote in a 2018 email that he had abused “many” women “in some way.” She later recanted her claims on Fox News. Hegseth’s former sister-in-law alleged that the Army vet mistreated his ex-wife to the point that she feared for her safety.
Hegseth’s former coworkers at a veterans’ advocacy organization say he was constantly intoxicated and fostered a hostile work environment, allegations that GOP Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins pointed to in statements announcing their opposition to his confirmation.
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