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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Trump’s defense secretary nominee paid accuser but denies sexual
assault, attorney says
By Kaanita Iyer, Zachary Cohen and Kaitlan Collins, CNN
Updated:
1:22 AM EST, Sun November 17, 2024
Source: CNN
President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary pick, Pete Hegseth,
paid a woman who in a settlement agreement that included a
confidentiality clause, according to Hegseth’s attorney.
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 last week confirmed 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 state public records law.
Hegseth has not been charged in any criminal case or named as a
defendant in any civil lawsuit in connection with the incident.
In 2020, Hegseth learned the woman was considering filing a lawsuit,
Parlatore said in statement provided to CNN.
Parlatore said the payment to the married woman was of “a
significantly reduced amount” and that Hegseth, a veteran turned Fox
News host, settled because it was during the “Me Too” movement and
he didn’t want to lose his job at the network if the accusation
became public. The attorney’s statement did not say how much
Hegseth’s accuser was paid in the settlement.
Parlatore said Hegseth felt that 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 did
not know what she was authorized 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 Saturday evening.
The alleged assault took place in the early morning hours of October 8,
2017, at the address of the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa, and
was reported by the woman four days later, according to the city’s
statement. Hegseth was a speaker at a conference held by the California
Federation of Republican Women at a hotel during the timeframe when the
alleged assault took place.
The statement from Monterey City added that there were no weapons
involved, but there were injuries – “contusions to right thigh”
– without providing additional details.
Trump selected Hegseth last week as his defense secretary nominee
despite him having no senior military or public office experience,
which surprised both Pentagon officials and the former president’s
own allies. Trump’s announcement was swiftly followed by news of the
alleged sexual assault, catching the president-elect’s CNN reported
Friday.
Trump’s communications director defended Hegseth in an earlier
statement to CNN, saying he “has vigorously denied any and all
accusations, and no charges were filed.”
“We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of
Defense so he can get started on Day One to Make America Safe and Great
Again,” Steven Cheung said.
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