Trump Pick Pete Hegseth’s Defense Secretary said he will face previous sexual misconduct charges
Donald TrumpTrump’s transition team scrambled Thursday after Trump’s new chief of staff Susie Wiles was presented with an allegation that before Fox & Friends co-host Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense has engaged in sexual misconduct. According to two sources, Wiles was informed Wednesday night of the allegation that Hegseth had acted inappropriately with a woman. One of the sources said the alleged incident occurred in Monterey, California in 2017.
The allegation was serious enough that Wiles and Trump’s lawyers spoke to Hegseth about it on Thursday, according to the source. A source with knowledge of the meeting said Hegseth said the charges stemmed from a consensual encounter and described the circumstances as he said, she said.
On Thursday night, Hegseth’s attorney Timothy Parlatore said: “This allegation was investigated by the Monterey Police Department and they found no evidence for it.”
Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung said: “President Trump is nominating highly motivated and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his Administration. Mr Hegseth has strongly denied all allegations and no charges have been laid. We look forward to his confirmation as U.S. Secretary of Defense so he can begin Day One of Making America Safe and Great Again.”
Before Thursday’s meeting, a senior MAGA member familiar with the allegation said Hegseth had not been thoroughly vetted before Trump made the controversial choice. “He has not been tested,” the source said. But senior transition sources have disputed this. “Hegseth was thoroughly vetted, but this alleged incident did not come up.”
Trump shocked the political and military world on November 12 when he nominated Hegseth to oversee the Pentagon. Hegseth could have faced a bumpy road to Senate confirmation. The 44-year-old cable TV personality and military veteran has one history about making inflammatory statements. Hegseth once called liberals “domestic enemies” who wanted “lesbian transgender black women.” [to] run everything!” In 2018, when he was potentially appointed to run the Department of Veterans Affairs. reported that he began an affair and fathered a child with a Fox producer while still married to his second wife. He then married the producer.
A Hegseth ally blamed the sexual misconduct allegations on GOP establishment members who were trying to block Hegseth’s nomination. “They will try to eliminate all of these nominations before the confirmation vote,” the ally said.
