On November 12, Donald Trump announced that he had nominated Pete Hegseth, ex-Fox News commentator and former Army National Guard officer, to serve as secretary of Defense in his incoming administration. Hegseth’s selection was immediately met with skepticism, with critics pointing to his lack of traditional military-leadership experience as well as his public push for pardoning service members accused of war crimes and against women serving in combat roles. But two days after his nomination, it’s emerged that the conservative TV host was accused of sexual assault many years prior. Though Trump appears to be standing by his nomination, more details continue to emerge, including the release of the police report regarding the incident. In addition to the assault accusation, other reports on Hegseth’s past behavior towards women as well as excessive drinking have also arisen. Here’s what we know so far.
The allegation
Vanity Fair reported on November 14 that the Trump transition team had received word that Hegseth had been accused of sexual misconduct back in 2017. A source told the outlet that Trump attorneys and his newly appointed chief of staff, Susie Wiles, asked Hegseth about the incident, which he characterized as a “he-said, she-said.”
The incident allegedly took place during the 2017 California Federation of Republican Women conference in Monterey, where Hegseth was in attendance. Per the Washington Post, the transition team received a four-page memo detailing an alleged assault by Hegseth of a 30-year-old female staffer for a conservative organization at the hotel, written by a friend of the victim in question. The friend claimed that the woman, whom she did not identify by name, attended the conference with her husband and children, and the woman has since signed a nondisclosure agreement with Hegseth.
In a statement, the City of Monterey confirmed that the local police department investigated an “alleged sexual assault” that occurred in 2017 between 11:59 p.m. on October 7 and 7 a.m. on October 8 at 1 Old Golf Course Road, the location of the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel. The city did not list the name or age of the alleged victim but noted that they sustained bruises on their right thigh. A report was completed days later on October 12. No charges were filed, and the woman’s statement has not been made public.
On November 20, the full report from the Monterey Police Department was released, revealing additional details about the alleged incident between the woman and Hegseth. Per the report, law enforcement first got involved after a nurse reported a possible sexual assault after the woman, identified as Jane Doe, came into the ER and requested a rape-kit exam.
Doe told police that she was at a sports bar attached to the hotel when she observed Hegseth acting inappropriate toward other women, describing him in a text as having a “creeper” vibe. Doe said she had an argument with Hegseth about his behavior, but that her memory then grew hazy. The next thing she remembered was being in an unfamiliar room with Hegseth with no recollection of how she got there. Doe told police that she tried to leave the room, but that Hegseth “blocked the door with his body.” Doe added that she “remembered saying ‘no’ a lot.” She then recalled lying down on either a couch or a bed with Hegseth over her and his “dog tags were hovering over her face.” “The next memory JANE DOE had was when HEGSETH ejaculated on her stomach. HEGSETH threw a towel at her and asked her ‘are you ok?,’” the report read.
In a statement given to police, Hegseth acknowledged being in the bar, but said he did not recall having an argument with anyone. He confirmed that he went back to his hotel room with the woman in question, but said the encounter was consensual, telling authorities “there were a couple of times he had made sure JANE DOE was comfortable with what was going on between the two of them.”
A hotel worker told police that multiple guests complained that evening about a “couple” loudly arguing by the building’s pool, prompting a response from staff. When Hegseth and Doe were encountered, the employee recalled that Hegseth “was very intoxicated,” but that the woman was “not intoxicated, was standing on her own and was very coherent.”
What have Hegseth and his attorney said?
Through his lawyer, Hegseth has maintained that the 2017 encounter was consensual. Timothy Parlatore, Hegseth’s attorney, said in a statement to the Washington Post that on the night in question, the Fox commentator was “visibly intoxicated but the Complainant was not, as she led him by the arm to his hotel room,” and that after they were inside the hotel room, she was “the aggressor in initiating sexual activity.” Parlatore said, with no provided evidence, that the police had concluded the woman was the “aggressor.”
Parlatore confirmed that Hegseth agreed to pay the woman as part of a nondisclosure agreement out of concern that the incident becoming public “would result in his immediate termination from Fox.” The amount of the sum was undisclosed.
In an interview with CBS News, Parlatore said that surveillance footage as well as eyewitness testimony support Hegseth’s version of events, but he declined to provide the names of any potential witnesses to the network. “[Hegseth] was intoxicated. She was sober. She was the one grabbing him by the arm and leading him out of the bar to take him upstairs,” he said.
Hegseth made his first public comments on the incident while visiting the U.S. Capitol for a series of meetings with senators. When a reporter asked directly if he sexually assaulted a woman in Monterey, he said, “As far as the media is concerned, it’s very simple. The matter was fully investigated and I was completely cleared and that’s where I’m gonna leave it.”
What has Trump said?
Despite the alleged assault coming to light, Trump appears undeterred in his selection of Hegseth. The New York Times reports that Trump told aides that he intends to stand by Hegseth following the reports of the 2017 incident. “Mr. Hegseth 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,” incoming Trump communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement.
However, there are reportedly concerns about the vetting, or lack thereof, of Hegseth prior to being nominated to Trump’s administration. One source told Vanity Fair, “He wasn’t vetted.” Another said to the Post, “There’s a lot of frustration around this. He hadn’t been properly vetted.”
In an interview on Meet the Press, Republican senator Markwayne Mullin was asked if the recent reports could impact Hegseth’s chances of being confirmed. “It could,” Mullin said. He added, “He fits the role of secretary of Defense. I think he’s a good pick, but once again, as allegations come out, we’ll figure out if as the Senate moves forward with the advice and consent to the president of the United States and doing our constitutional duties, we’ll figure out if he can get confirmed or not.”
There is also concern about the impact Hegseth’s confirmation could have on the efforts to combat sexual assault within the military. Explained one unnamed former Defense Department official to Politico: “When you have a leader that has already been credibly accused of sexual assault and then already has other signals in his background that he’s not concerned about the contributions that women can make to national security, it could create bad signals up and down the chain of command.”
The idea that Trump would maintain unwavering support for his Cabinet nominees ended on November 21, when his first attorney general pick, former congressman Matt Gaetz, withdrew after Trump reportedly told him to. That may lead to more attention on Hegseth and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s contentious nominee for Health and Human Services secretary.
While vice-president-elect J.D. Vance is working to clear a path for Hegseth in the Senate, Vanity Fair reported that Trump transition officials are prepping a list of potential replacement candidates in case Trump decides to go a different direction.
Other allegations of bad behavior
On December 2, the New Yorker published a report looking into Hegseth’s time as the president of Concerned Veterans for America, a veterans nonprofit group. Per the outlet, Hegseth’s questionable behavior, including excessive drinking at the group’s events, ultimately led to him leaving the organization:
A previously undisclosed whistle-blower report on Hegseth’s tenure as the president of Concerned Veterans for America, from 2013 until 2016, describes him as being repeatedly intoxicated while acting in his official capacity—to the point of needing to be carried out of the organization’s events. The detailed seven-page report—which was compiled by multiple former C.V.A. employees and sent to the organization’s senior management in February, 2015—states that, at one point, Hegseth had to be restrained while drunk from joining the dancers on the stage of a Louisiana strip club, where he had brought his team. The report also says that Hegseth, who was married at the time, and other members of his management team sexually pursued the organization’s female staffers, whom they divided into two groups—the “party girls” and the “not party girls.” In addition, the report asserts that, under Hegseth’s leadership, the organization became a hostile workplace that ignored serious accusations of impropriety, including an allegation made by a female employee that another employee on Hegseth’s staff had attempted to sexually assault her at the Louisiana strip club.
This post has been updated.
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