Washington – Former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for defense secretary, met with senators on Capitol Hill on Thursday as new details emerged about an alleged sexual assault that occurred in 2017.
Hegseth was accompanied to his meetings by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance of Ohio, as he sought to garner support among Republican senators for the former Fox News host's expected nomination. Trump was elected The 44-year-old Army veteran — who served in Iraq and Afghanistan — cited his military experience last week, calling him a “warrior for the troops.”
Before the meetings, the release of a detailed police report More attention was drawn late Wednesday to the choice of defense secretary, based on information revealed about the investigation of Hegseth for alleged sexual harassment in 2017. The report included the first detailed accounts of the incident from the unnamed woman, Hegseth and others. Hegseth denied the allegation and described the incident as a consensual encounter.
Hegseth and Vance have met with Sens. Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Marco Rubio of Florida. Rubio was chosen by Trump act as secretary of state But if Hegseth is still in the Senate, he can vote on her nomination.
Blackburn said he had a “great meeting” with Hegseth, adding that he is a Tennessean whom “we are eager to support.”
Hagerty compared the allegations against Hegseth to those made against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. Kavanaugh was accused of sexually assaulting Christine Blasey Ford in high school in the 1980s. He vehemently denied the claims, and no one present at the gathering where the alleged incident occurred could corroborate Ford's allegations.
“It's a shame that these allegations are nothing more than what you said,” he told reporters. “This is a case that has been dismissed. This is just something to be trumpeted, an attempt to discredit and discredit a candidate. It reminds me of what happened with Brett Kavanaugh. It's outrageous.”
The Monterey Police Department sent its report about the alleged assault to the Monterey County District Attorney's Office for review in 2017. Monterey County District Attorney Jeanine M. Pacioni said Thursday that her office “declined to file charges” in January 2018 because no charges had been filed. Supported by evidence beyond reasonable doubt.”
The chairman of the Republican conference, Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, praised Hegseth as a “strong” candidate to lead the Pentagon. Barrasso will become the second-highest-ranking Senate Republican in the next Congress if elected as majority whip.
“We had an excellent discussion about how America's military needs to remain the best in the world. That means taking care of our service members, equipping them with the latest technology and focusing on making our military the deadliest force on the planet. focus.” he said in a statement. “Pete pledged that the Pentagon will focus on strength and hard power – not on the woke political agenda of the current administration.”
These were the allegations against Hegseth Revealed last week When authorities in Monterey, California released a public statement revealing the incident that occurred at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel on the night of October 7, 2017, and the morning of October 8, 2017. The incident was reported to the Monterey Police Department five days later.
That police report, which was released Wednesday to CBS News and other outlets in response to public records requests, provided more details about the incident between Hegseth and the unidentified woman. The alleged victim told police that Hegseth sexually assaulted her after a Republican Women's event at the hotel. According to the investigation report, she said he took her phone, closed the hotel room door and refused to let her leave.
The report states that law enforcement were first alerted to the alleged assault by a nurse who informed police that a patient had requested a sexual assault examination. Police also spoke to a hotel employee and another woman who was at the event with Hegseth.
The alleged victim told the nurse that she had been drinking with co-workers but believes that something may have been spiked in her drink as she does not remember many of the events of the night. She remembered being in a co-worker's hotel room, lying on either the couch or the bed, and a bare-chested Hegseth looming over her with his dog tags hanging over her face. According to the report, she said Hegseth ejaculated on her stomach and then asked, “Are you okay?”
The unidentified woman said her last memory was of walking into her hotel room, though she told police she could not remember how she got back there, the report said.
Hegseth also spoke to police and claimed that the alleged victim took him to his room. According to the report, he said the conversation was consensual and that he checked several times to make sure the woman was comfortable with what was happening.
Hegseth's attorney Timothy Parlatore said, “This police report confirms what I have always said. The incident was thoroughly investigated and the police found the allegations to be false, which is why no charges were filed.”
Although no charges were filed, neither Monterey police nor city officials publicly stated that the allegations were found to be false.
Parlatore had told cbs news On Monday that his client paid a confidential financial settlement to the woman who accused him of sexual harassment because he was concerned Fox News would fire him because of the allegation.
In addition to the allegations against Hegseth, his selection has been criticized due to his lack of high-level national security experience. The Department of Defense is the largest federal agency, with more than 3 million civilian and military employees and a budget of more than $800 billion. She also faced criticism for her stance that women should not serve in combat roles in the US military.
The meetings come a day after former Rep. Matt Gaetz also met with GOP senators earlier withdrawing my name For consideration by the Attorney General. Gaetz said in a post on social media that it has become clear that his candidacy is “wrongfully distracting from the important work of the Trump/Vance transition.”
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