Pete Hegseth: Trump’s Defense Secretary Nominee Was Involved in 2017 Sex Abuse Allegation Investigation

Monterey, California
CNN
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Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick of Defense Secretary, was involved in a police investigation into an alleged sexual assault in 2017, local officials in California confirmed Thursday evening.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the city government of Monterey, California, said police were investigating “an alleged sexual assault” involving Hegseth, a Fox News host and Army National Guard veteran. The alleged attack occurred in the early morning hours of Oct. 8, 2017, at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa address, and was reported four days later, according to the statement.

Hegseth was a speaker at a conference held at the hotel by the California Federation of Republican Women around the time the alleged attack occurred, according to photos of the event posted on Facebook.

The city’s statement did not specifically identify Hegseth as an alleged attacker but said he was involved in the investigation and that the victim’s name and age were confidential. The statement said no weapons were involved, but there were injuries — “bruises to the right thigh” — without providing further details. The city said it would not release the full police report or comment further on the investigation, citing public records laws.

Trump’s communications director described Trump’s early selections for his administration as “high caliber and extremely qualified” and defended Hegseth in a statement to CNN.

“Sir. Hegseth has strongly denied all allegations and no charges have been filed,” Trump communications director Steven Cheung said. “We look forward to his appointment as United States Secretary of Defense so he can get to work on day one to make America safe and great again.”

Members of Trump’s transition team, including new chief of staff Susie Wiles, discussed the allegation with Hegseth on Thursday and he claimed the investigation was related to a consensual sexual encounter, Vanity Fair reported Thursday evening, citing two unnamed sources.

Timothy Parlatore, an attorney representing Hegseth, told Vanity Fair that “this allegation had already been investigated by the Monterey Police Department and they found no evidence of it.” Parlatore could not immediately be reached for comment by CNN following the release of Monterey’s statement shortly after midnight eastern time.

The city’s statement did not indicate what happened to the investigation. Hegseth has not been charged in any criminal case or named as a defendant in any civil lawsuit filed in Monterey County since 2017, a district court spokesperson told CNN on Thursday.

Trump named Hegseth as his pick for defense secretary on Tuesday, surprising both Pentagon officials and the former president’s own allies by choosing a candidate without senior military or public office experience. Hegseth co-hosts the show “Fox & Friends Weekend,” previously led several nonprofits and briefly represented Minnesota in the U.S. Senate in 2012.

Hegseth has criticized military leadership for promoting diversity and has spoken out against women serving in combat. In an interview earlier this year, he said that “women should not be in combat at all. They are life givers, not life takers.”