Trump’s pick to lead the Defense Department was accused of sexual assault in 2017

WASHINGTON – Pete Hegseth, a popular Fox News host and Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Defense Department, was charged with sexual assault in 2017 after a speaking appearance at a Republican women’s event in Monterey, California, according to a statement released by the city. No charges have been filed in the case.

Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, told The Associated Press that the allegations were “completely false.”

“This was investigated by the police at the time and they found no evidence,” Parlatore said.

Monterey City officials declined to release a police report documenting the allegations and instead issued a brief statement Thursday evening in response to press inquiries.

According to that statement, Monterey police were contacted in October 2017 to investigate a sexual assault that allegedly occurred several days earlier at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Monterey and involved Hegseth.

The person who reported the assault – whose name, age and gender were not released – had bruises on the right thigh. No weapons were involved in the encounter, the person told police. The incident occurred sometime between 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 7 and 7 a.m. the next morning, according to the city’s statement.

According to social media posts and promotional materials at the time, Hegseth was in town at the time to address the California Federation of Republican Women at a banquet dinner at the group’s biennial convention.

The alleged assault was first reported by Vanity Fair on Thursday.

Monterey City officials said they withheld further details in the police report because it contained analysis and conclusions from law enforcement officers who are exempt from release under the state’s public records law.

At the time of the alleged assault in 2017, Hegseth, now 44, was divorcing his second wife, with whom he has three children. She filed for divorce after he had a child with a Fox News producer who is now his wife, according to court documents and social media posts by Hegseth. His first marriage ended in 2009, also after Hegseth’s infidelity, court records show.

In a statement, Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump transition, said the president-elect “nominates highly qualified and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his administration.”

“Sir. Hegseth has strongly denied all allegations and no charges have been filed. 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,” said Cheung.

Hegseth was tapped by Trump this week as defense secretary. Hegseth has developed a close relationship with Trump, who also reportedly considered him for a post in his first administration. Hegseth has lobbied Trump to release soldiers accused of war crimes.

A staunch conservative who embraces Trump’s “America First” policies, he has pushed to make the military more lethal. During an interview on “The Shawn Ryan Show” podcast, he said allowing women to serve in combat hurts that effort.

“Anything that men and women serve together complicates the situation, and complications in combat mean the casualties are worse,” Hegseth said.