Fox News’ Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s chosen Defense Secretary, paid a settlement for the woman who accused him of sexual assault: Lawyer

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017 as part of a plea deal, a lawyer for Hegseth said in a statement Saturday.

Tim Parlatore, an attorney for the Fox News star, said in the statement that Hegseth only settled in December 2020 because he feared his career would suffer if her allegations were made public. Parlatore said Hegseth was the victim of “blackmail” and “false claims of sexual assault” by an unknown woman after a Republican women’s convention in California on October 7, 2017.

“Knowing that this was the height of the MeToo movement and that any public accusation would result in his immediate dismissal from Fox, Mr. Hegseth ultimately decided to settle for a significantly reduced amount,” the statement said.

According to Parlatore, Hegseth met the woman at an event after-party, where he became “visibly intoxicated.” The woman “led him by the arm to his hotel room” where the two had a “consensual sexual encounter.”

“The complainant was the aggressor in initiating sexual activity,” Parlatore wrote.

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As ABC News previously reported, the woman reported the incident to police days later, but no charges were filed. Two years later, according to Parlatore, the woman “began making a fuss about filing a lawsuit against Mr. Hegseth.” Her colleagues “warned us of the threat,” prompting Hegseth and his legal team to send her a defamation letter.

Parlatore did not disclose the amount of the settlement.

According to The Washington Post, Parlatore’s statement — which was first reported by the newspaper — came after a friend of the alleged victim sent a memo to Trump transition officials last week drawing their attention to the incident.

The memo, which ABC News has not obtained or reviewed, reportedly stated that the woman — described by the Post as a then-30-year-old staffer for a conservative group — was responsible for Hegseth returning to his home. hotel room at the end of the night.

In a message on X (linked)Trump’s team said the newly elected president supports Hegseth.

“Mr. Hegseth has strongly denied all allegations and no charges have been filed,” Trump communications director Stephen Cheung said. “We look forward to his appointment as United States Secretary of Defense.”

Trump’s team did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment. The person who sent the memo to the transition team did not respond to requests for comment from The Post.

According to the memo, two other women summoned her when Hegseth “became pushy about his interest in taking them upstairs to his room.”

After the two other women left, “the woman didn’t remember anything until she was in Hegseth’s hotel room and then stumbled to find her hotel room.” The next day, she “had a moment of vague memory of the rape the night before and had a panic attack,” the memo said.

The woman then went to an emergency room where a rape kit exam “came positive for semen,” according to the Post.

Monterey city officials said in a statement that police were investigating an “assault” that allegedly occurred in the early morning hours of Oct. 8, 2017, at a Hyatt Regency. No weapon was involved in the incident, but the victim reportedly suffered “bruises to the right thigh.”

Hegseth is not identified as the alleged attacker in the city’s statement. The victim’s name and age are listed as ‘confidential’.

Days later, on October 12, a report was drawn up. A spokesperson for the Monterey Supreme Court told ABC News on Thursday that there were no records with Hegseth’s name as a party.

The video in the player above is from an earlier report.