The lawyer confirms that defense lawyer Peter Hegeth paid the accuser to protect his career

An attorney for Pete Hegseth, the Fox News host and President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, confirmed to NPR that Hegseth paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault to prevent her from filing a lawsuit that could damage his career.

Hegseth (44) denies the woman’s allegations. The incident occurred in 2017.

The Washington Post reported Saturday that Hegseth’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, said in a statement that Hegseth had reached a settlement with her accuser that included paying her an undisclosed amount of money in exchange for her signing a non-disclosure agreement. The agreement was intended to prevent her from filing a lawsuit and to protect Hegseth’s position at Fox News, the PosI reported it.

Hegseth’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, told NPR on Monday that the information attributed to him was accurate, which first reported news of the settlement. According to Lent In the article, a friend of the woman shared information about the incident in a note sent last week to Trump’s transition team. NPR has not independently confirmed the contents of the memo.

Trump’s team says no charges have been filed

“President Trump is nominating high-calibre and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his administration,” Trump’s communications director, Steven Cheung, said in a statement to NPR.

Cheung said Hegseth’s nomination would be considered.

“Mr Hegseth has vehemently denied all allegations and no charges have been brought,” he said. “We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense so that he can begin working to make America safe and great again on day one.”

Trump himself was convicted of falsifying business records related to the so-called silent cash paymentsto adult film star Stormy Daniels, which he believes is politically motivated.

What is Hegseth accused of?

In 2017, Hegseth was named in a Monterey police investigation following a reported sexual assault at a California golf resort. According to statement from the city authorities, Hegseth admits that he had sexual intercourse with the woman, but insists that it was consensual.

The incident occurred on October 8 in the early morning hours at 1 Old Golf Course Road, the address of the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa. Police say the woman reported an injury to her right thigh. Their press release did not provide the name or age of the alleged victim; however, she was 30 years old at the time and worked for the California Federation of Republican Women, helping with logistics while Hegseth spoke at their conference.

She lived in a hotel with her husband.

Hegseth’s relationship status at the time was complicated: In 2017, his second wife filed for divorce “around the same time” that he and his current wife were having a child, according to Washington Examiner.

In his statement to LentParlatore claims Hegseth had been drinking at the hotel bar and was under the influence of alcohol when he walked with the woman to his hotel room. According to The Post, a note from the woman’s friend shows that the woman took Hegseth to her room after being informed that he was a nuisance to other women. A few days later, she contacted the police and reported the sexual assault.

After the woman hired a lawyer to handle the lawsuit several years later, the two sides reached a settlement. In his statement to the Post, Parlatore noted that the MeToo movement was gaining momentum at the time and said that CBS News that Hegseth faced an “immediate storm of terror” if he were publicly accused of sexual assault, which Parlatore confirmed to NPR.

The Monterey incident occurred about a year after Fox News reached an agreement with the former journalist Fox and friends co-host Gretchen Carlson for $20 million in connection with sexual harassment allegations against the network’s former president, Roger Ailes. Between early 2017 and 2020, the network experienced several high-profile misconduct-related departures, including hosts Bill O’Reilly AND Eric Bollingcorrespondent from Washington James Rosen and news host Ed Henry.

Hegseth is known for his television work and loyalty to Trump

When Hegseth was nominated last week, his selection apparently surprised several Republican lawmakers; as NPR reported, his name was not on the known short list of potential candidates. However, it continued Trump’s pattern of positioning Fox News loyalists and personalities in prominent positions.

Trump’s election brought Hegseth, who lives in Tennessee with his wife and seven children, under intense scrutiny.

Prominent Democrats and military experts asked questions including: the meaning of his tattoos and political ethos on whether Hegseth is qualified to oversee the nation’s largest employer. According to the report, the Department of Defense has “more than 2.1 million military service members and more than 770,000 civilian employees.” Financial report for 2020.

According to Hegseth, he is from Minnesota and served as an officer in the Air National Guard, retiring as a major in 2021 after deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. his official biography. In 2013, he obtained a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University.

Among those questioning Hegseth’s qualifications is Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., a ranking member of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee.

“I have great respect for everyone who has served our nation in the United States Armed Forces. However, not everyone who wears a uniform is qualified to lead the Department of Defense,” McCollum – wrote in the statementadding that she is concerned that Hegseth “is ill-prepared to serve as Secretary of Defense.”

The military has its own problems with sexual assault

If confirmed, Hegseth will lead the U.S. military as it tries to reduce the alarming number of sexual assaults military academies Down overseas deployments.

A noteworthy change is that the Department of Defense implemented a change earlier this year that grants independent military attorneys authority to hear sexual assault cases,

removing these matters from the accused or victim’s chain of command.

This change in the military justice system was supported by current Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.