Trump team weighs Pentagon pick after sexual assault allegation surfaces
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Trump’s pick for defense secretary was investigated in a 2017 incident in California, Monterey police said. Hegseth’s lawyer said police found no evidence of wrongdoing.
Senior officials on President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team on Friday weighed the future of Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice to lead the Defense Department, amid new revelations that police investigated an allegation that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017.
The internal turmoil over Hegseth’s future was sparked by a complaint shared with the transition team with extensive information about a woman’s claim that Hegseth assaulted her in a hotel in Monterey, California, after a Republican conference, according to a person familiar with the complaint who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation. The woman who drafted the complaint said the alleged victim was a friend who later signed a nondisclosure agreement with Hegseth.
Monterey police confirmed they had investigated Hegseth over an allegation of “alleged sexual assault” in 2017 and that the incident did not result in criminal charges.
The transition team was caught by surprise by the detailed allegations and now fears more negative revelations about Hegseth, said the person familiar with the complaint. “There’s a lot of frustration around this,” the person said. “He hadn’t been properly vetted.”
The woman who drafted the complaint did not respond to requests for comment from The Washington Post.
Tim Parlatore, an attorney for Hegseth, said Friday that the assault allegation was “fully investigated and found not to be true.” Asked if Hegseth sought a nondisclosure agreement with the woman, Parlatore said “there’s no other skeletons to come out.” He added, “There’s no reason to withdraw that I’m aware of.”
The president-elect was not told about the extent of the sexual misconduct allegation before he chose Hegseth as the Pentagon nominee because no private firm vetted him, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.
Trump communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement that Trump is standing by Hegseth.
“President Trump is nominating high-caliber and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his Administration,” Cheung said. “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.”
The alleged incident occurred when Hegseth attended a California Federation of Republican Women conference in Monterey, and allegedly took place between just before midnight on Oct. 7, 2017, and 7 a.m. the following morning at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa, according to the police statement, first reported by Vanity Fair. The allegation to police was made Oct. 12, 2017, the report said.
The police statement did not provide any other details beyond noting that the complainant had a bruise on her right thigh and that there was no weapon or property involved.
The Post could find no reference in court files to the matter. The police statement does not disclose the complainant’s name, citing her identity and age as “Confidential.” The Post also generally does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.
A Facebook post by a group called Fresno Republican Women shows Hegseth speaking to GOP women in Monterey on the day that the alleged assault occurred. “Pete Hegseth speaking to big Republican Women crowd in Monterey,” the post says.
Shirley Mark, who was the president of the California Federation of Republican Women at the time, according to tax filings, said in a brief interview Thursday that she had heard something about the allegation but that she did not know the identity of the accuser and had no comment.
Hegseth has been married three times, according to court records. He married his first wife, Meredith, in his early 20s and they divorced in 2009, according to Minnesota court filings. The couple agreed that the reasons for the split were an “irretrievable breakdown” of the marriage and Hegseth’s “infidelity,” according to a filing in their divorce case. She declined to comment.
He married his second wife, Samantha, in 2010. Hegseth fathered a child with another woman, Jennifer Rauchet, then a Fox News producer, in August 2017, during that marriage. According to court records, Samantha Hegseth, who did not respond to a request for comment, filed for divorce in September — a month after the child was born. Following his second divorce, Hegseth married Rauchet.
Hegseth is one of several Trump Cabinet picks who could face resistance in the Senate. His selection caught many by surprise. The Fox News host, who served in the Army National Guard, has echoed Trump’s complaints that the military is too “woke” and, during Trump’s first term, successfully encouraged the president to pardon Army officers accused of war crimes over objections from the Pentagon.
Trump’s team began formally vetting Hegseth after Trump called him Nov. 7 to ask whether he was interested in becoming defense secretary, a person familiar with the conversations told The Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private meetings.
Trump’s pick for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, also faces renewed scrutiny of sexual misconduct allegations ahead of a potentially contentious confirmation fight. The Justice Department last year dropped an investigation into allegations that Gaetz violated sex trafficking laws in a case involving a 17-year-old girl, but the House Ethics Committee has been reviewing the matter more recently and was about to vote on releasing a report when Gaetz resigned from Congress this week — just after Trump’s decision to tap him for attorney general. Gaetz has denied wrongdoing.
The president-elect himself has also been accused over the years of sexual harassment and assault — allegations he denies. A jury in a civil trial last year found Trump liable for sexual abuse of the writer E. Jean Carroll and ordered him to pay damages.
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So there are second thoughts from the Trump team regarding someone accused of sexual assault. Oh the irony.
I think they have to be a criminal in some way or a sexual deviant or guilty of sexual assault or rape - to even be part of the next criminal enterprise of an administration.
The liars love their liars
He's garbage like the rest of the piece of shit's appointments.
No doubt it was on his resume as a 'plus' when applying for a job with Trump. "Accused of sexual assault! Will fit right in at Trump parties and events!".
’s transition team on Friday weighed the future of Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice to lead the Defense Department, amid new revelations that police investigated an allegation that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017.
lol. he was exonerated. Democrats really scraping the bottom of the barrell here. When Trump goes low, they go lower.
Psst. you are supposed to be slurring him as a white supramcist because he has a cross tattoo. You are using the wrong playbook.
No credible evidence, no charges filed, alleged "victim" will not come out in public, no reference of any of this in court files.
Almost like one of those women who decided to come out against Trump after 30+ years, waiting until he runs for president.
Of course, the left is going to believe this woman, but basically laughed at the woman that Harris' husband popped in public....with witnesses.
This is even more worthless than the Ford accusation. it is pathetic what the left will publish and the equally moronic will believe. the only good thing is Coons can't role that little bitch Jeff Flake this time around.
Awesome
Doesn't matter. He is a white male in the Trump administration. That is all they need to call him a white supremacist.
Awesome
I heard every tattoo on his body, and there are a lot of them , has a religious warrior meaning. That is a little weird in itself.
I think the vetting process was probably not too far from this:
Trump: You know I always liked that Hegseth guy on Fox News; very loyal. He was in the military so ... maybe Secretary of Defense?
and guilty of rape
Who was guilty of rape?
Allegation of sexual assault, three marriages, divorced for infidelity, lunatic fringe reactionary. It sounds like he's cut from the same mold as trump. He's obviously a perfect Christian nationalist role model, and based on those credentials, perfect for trump's cabinet. Trump is probably jealous that he doesn't have his own child born from an affair while he was married, though.
[✘] Who cares how many marriages he has had? Common sense people sure as hell don't.
It has been WELL reported of Clinton's infidelity, but there was no way Hillary was going to divorce him because the money train would have dried up instantly.[✘]
'Where was your criticism when reports came out that Harris' husband popped a woman in the face in public, with witnesses? He was also divorced for infidelity, but I guess because the almighty D is in play, that's OK.'
Prove it.
The woman who made the claim never came forward.
I wonder how much the skank was paid to make the claim.
I guess CNN and MSDNC never told you.
Doug Emhoff responds for first time to allegations that he 'forcefully' struck ex-girlfriend
Doug Emhoff’s ex-wife responds after he admits to affair with nanny during their marriage
"I wonder how much the skank was paid to make the claim."
I don't know. Maybe she took advice from the skank that claimed Trump sexually assaulted her in a dressing room 30 plus years ago.
I await proof from reliable sources
[✘]
omg that’s stupid. First of all, anyone here would condemn that. I certainly would, but he isn’t an elected official and no one is trying to appoint him to a cabinet post - and arguably the most sensitive cabinet post.
But it’s par for the course. Y’all elected a man who has actually been found liable in court for sexual assault, and has bragged about it. So it shouldn’t really surprise anyone that he might appoint people with similar proclivities to head departments of Defense and Justice.
The real surprise is watching senators pretend to give a shit.
or a source.
No one said they were.
It is the hypocrisy of the left that whines, cries, screams at the sky, insults, demeans when something does not go their way, but have no problem when their own do the same exact things.
That's true too.
Blueanon sees a cross, they go into full "Christian nationalist" hysteria.
Even Jill Biden's spokesperson is tired of the nutters destroying the party in they eyes of normal people.
It’s not hypocrisy when the circumstances are so different. The public has no particular interest in weighing in on the alleged activities of a private citizen.
We do have that right when the subject is a public servant, and particularly so when that public servant will be responsible for national security and defense, and have top secret clearance.
You are trying to equate apples and orangutans.
You realize he is still a Major in the Air national guard and probably still holds that clearance right?
I certainly don't, and I didn't say I did. And we know the so-called "family values" right wingers don't either. He's almost a copycat for their Dear Leader Trump. So there ya go.
Sure they do. Donald Trump was a private citizen for the past four years, but the left couldn't help but trip over themselves to criticize everything he did or said.
[✘]
Trump was not just a private citizen, he was actively involved in politics whining about the election loss and endorsing candidates. Trump was always a public figure in the news. For the past two years Trump has been running for PotUS.
There was about two or three weeks right after he left office when Trump was laying low. Ever since McCarthy went down to Palm Beach to kiss his ring though, he's made himself national news on a regular basis and eventually daily basis.
Because he’s been running for president the entire time. Also, he - allegedly - committed crimes while he was president.
My God! This is not complicated!
I have never cared about the spouses, children, parents, or siblings of public servants. There is too much other important shit in the world that actually impacts the public
Common: adjective - falling below ordinary standards : second-rate ; lacking refinement : coarse
Common Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
Yes, Trump supporters just love wallowing in their "common sense", claim vaccines cause autism, claim Floride in the water is a mind control drug and they prefer to practice 'Hillbilly dentistry' because regular visits to a dentist, tooth decay and cavities are a 'hoax' created by liberal elitist trying to steal white conservative Christian's money...
‘Because he’s been running for president the entire time. Also, he - allegedly - committed crimes while he was president’
can you please show us where he announced his candidacy on Jan 20, 2020 for 2024?
But at least you admit alleged when most leftists here have already assigned guilt.
Not really a believer in the judicial system, are they?
Can you please just make serious conversation and not troll? He officially announced in November 2022. But he held half a dozen rallies in 2021 after leaving office, and two dozen in 2022 before announcing.
And we're talking about behavior that took place while he was president, immediately before, and immediately after. There is every reason in the world for the public to take an interest. No serious person cares what the Vice President's husband might or might not have done 30 years ago.
Have they? Is someone calling for him to be jailed without a trial?
Yes, they are. That's why they want trials.
Just more pathetic rumor mongering. More attempted character assassination, just like Justice Kavanaugh.
The Dems still worship Bubba Billy Blowjob Clinton, who had multiple accusers. And a lengthy legacy of many logged flights on the Lolita Express
Why did she sign an NDA?
Um…….so????? So fuckin what? She was probably some liberal skank who brought that shit on herself. For chrissake, a real American man doesn’t have to answer for his sexual conquests. Hell, if anything, it makes him even more fit to run our national defense!
/s
Seriously, y’all are gonna pretend this shit matters to you now? [deleted][✘]
On the plus side, at least it wasn't his daughter, or the Nanny who got punched in the face right?
Nope. Don't mean shit to common sense Americans.
The party that picked Harris/Walz criticizing anyone's choices is hysterical. Good job to the unaware.
[ ✘ ] Democrats' furor over 'unqualified' Trump nominees puts Biden's staffing decisions back in the spotlight | Fox News
One example...
"The Democrats are melting down over Trump‘s cabinet picks so far, but they had no problem with ‘Mayor Pete’ being appointed Secretary of Transportation with no prior qualifications," Link Lauren, an influencer and political commentator, who served as senior adviser to the Kennedy campaign, told Fox News Digital. "
That part isn’t really true. The senators voting to approve him understood this and voted 86-13 to confirm him.
It’s not hard to google Pete Buttigieg’s transportation qualifications or expedience, but few do.
He likes trains. That's all it took.
[✘]
Mike Lindell has not been given any position. He would be a fine head of the FBI in Trump's bizarro world.
He could be in charge of election integrity. Or nap time.
If we are going to make shit up, maybe when the next democratic president gets elected (it will be a long time), this guy can be in charge of airport luggage security
I want the nap time job. Putting my resume in now....
The one on the right is Trump's new White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Definitely his type. They will probably be burning the midnight oil trying to make him sound coherent.
[deleted][✘]