Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s Defense secretary nominee, has been accused of sexual assault and has agreed to release his accuser from a confidentiality agreement, according to Sen. Lindsey Graham. Hegseth, a Fox News co-host, allegedly assaulted a woman in 2017 in a hotel room in Monterey, California, but was not charged and maintains the interaction was consensual.
According to Graham, Hegseth told him that he would release the woman from the confidentiality agreement, saying, “I’d want to know if anybody nominated for a high-level job in Washington legitimately assaulted somebody.” Graham has stated that he will not consider allegations from anonymous sources and that the accuser’s testimony would be a key factor in determining the credibility of the allegations.
The accuser alleges that she was sexually assaulted by Hegseth and that she was paid a sum of money as part of a confidentiality agreement. Hegseth’s attorney claims that the agreement was made because Hegseth feared the woman was preparing to file a lawsuit that could cost him his job as a co-host on “Fox & Friends.”
Hegseth has denied the allegations and insists that the interaction was consensual. It is unclear whether the allegations will stand in the way of his confirmation, as Republicans will have a majority in the next Senate and have already expressed support for Hegseth’s nomination. Some moderate lawmakers, such as Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, have met with Hegseth and have expressed interest in his confirmation.