Fox Information host Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s decide to function protection secretary, paid a confidential monetary settlement to a lady who accused him of sexual assault out of concern that the allegation would result in his firing from the cable information large, his lawyer informed CBS Information.
Hegseth’s legal professional, Timothy Palatore, mentioned the Military veteran reached a confidential settlement settlement to discourage his accuser from going ahead with a lawsuit, sustaining that he’s harmless and the sexual encounter was consensual. Hegseth denies any wrongdoing.
“The truth is that, had they filed [a lawsuit], civil course of takes fairly some time, and so Fox Information doubtless would have fired him primarily based on the allegation,” mentioned Palatore, including that the lady and her legal professional “knew that merely submitting it will trigger a right away horror storm for [Hegseth].”
Fox Information didn’t reply to an inquiry about when the community came upon about Hegseth’s settlement settlement.
Trump’s transition group spoke with Palatore after Hegseth was named as Trump’s nominee protection secretary, the legal professional mentioned. He mentioned that he “defined this absolutely” to them however that he didn’t know what prior conversations Hegseth had with the transition group, or if that they had been knowledgeable in regards to the sexual assault allegation and settlement settlement earlier than the announcement of his impending nomination for protection secretary.
“This could don’t have anything to do with the affirmation course of,” he mentioned.
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Trump has indicated that these revelations haven’t deterred him from Hegseth’s choice as protection secretary. After reviews surfaced of the sexual assault accusation, Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung mentioned, “President Trump is nominating high-caliber and very certified candidates to serve in his Administration. Mr. Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no prices have been filed.”
The alleged sexual assault occurred after midnight on Oct. 8, 2017, on the Hyatt Regency Monterey Lodge and Spa. The lady, whose identification has been stored confidential, filed a criticism with the Monterey Police Division 4 days later alleging that she had been sexually assaulted by Hegseth. The town of Monterey confirmed the 2017 investigation into Hegseth and mentioned in a assertion that investigators discovered the lady had “contusions” on her proper thigh. No prices have been filed, Palatore mentioned.
The Washington Put up, which first reported the monetary cost, obtained what it known as a memo that was despatched to the Trump transition group by a good friend of the accuser alleging Hegseth raped a conservative group staffer in his room after ingesting on the resort bar. In accordance with the Put up, the memo states that the day after the incident, the accuser “had a second of hazy reminiscence of being raped the night time earlier than, and had a panic assault.”
CBS Information has not seen the memo and can’t confirm its contents.
Palatore informed CBS Information that there’s eyewitness testimony and video surveillance footage that allegedly reveals the accuser was the “aggressor” in a consensual sexual encounter. “[Hegseth] was intoxicated. She was sober. She was the one grabbing him by the arm and main him out of the bar to take him upstairs,” he mentioned.
When requested if CBS Information may view the footage, Palatore mentioned, “No.” He additionally declined to share the names of any eyewitnesses.
CNN reported that it spoke with the alleged sufferer final week, who “turned visibly distraught on the point out of Hegseth’s identify.” CNN says she declined to be interviewed on the time after which stopped responding.
Palatore wouldn’t share the precise timing of the settlement cost to the lady. He mentioned it occurred “a pair years in the past,” emphasizing that it was “nicely earlier than Trump was even nominated [for the presidency], not to mention had named Pete to this place.”
He additionally declined to reveal the quantity of the settlement, solely saying it was “far, far lower than what she needed.” He characterised it as “primarily an extortion and blackmail.”
Two years after the alleged incident, Palatore mentioned that Hegseth was knowledgeable the lady was making what they referred to as “false claims” in opposition to him and was threatening to sue him. Palatore mentioned that she had misplaced her job and claimed she wanted cash. In February of 2020, he despatched her a cease-and-desist letter. She went “quiet for a yr” earlier than he realized she had discovered an legal professional for her case.
Trump’s choice of Hegseth has been plagued with controversy. The announcement that the Fox Information character was his alternative for secretary of Protection took many in Washington unexpectedly. “Wow,” responded Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski upon studying he had been picked to steer the Protection Division. “I simply mentioned, wow,” she repeated when requested for her ideas.
Even Hegseth’s tattoos have attracted scrutiny, particularly the “Deux Vult” tattoo on his internal bicep. The symbolism of that tattoo, which has been tied to extremist teams and the Christian Crusaders, alarmed a member of Hegseth’s Nationwide Guard unit, who warned superiors that Hegseth was a possible “insider risk” earlier than President Joe Biden’s inauguration. He was faraway from guarding the inauguration.
After The Related Press reported Hegseth had been flagged as a risk, Vice President-elect JD Vance defended him on social media, accusing the outlet of “attacking Pete Hegseth for having a Christian motto tattooed on his arm.” Hegseth then shared Vance’s tweet, commenting, “They’ll goal me — I do not give a rattling — however this kind of focusing on of Christians, conservatives, patriots and on a regular basis Individuals will cease on DAY ONE at DJT’s DoD.”
The information of Hegseth’s monetary settlement settlement with a confidentiality clause might ring acquainted to Trump. The president-elect’s personal troubles associated to a nondisclosure settlement with grownup movie star Stormy Daniels led to the New York trial wherein he turned a convicted felon, in addition to the primary former (and now future) president to be criminally prosecuted.
Trump was discovered responsible on 34 counts of falsifying enterprise data associated to an alleged cover-up of the cost to Daniels. He has argued that the decision needs to be overturned and the indictment dismissed on the idea, amongst different issues, of the Supreme Court docket’s presidential immunity ruling.
James LaPorta,
Eleanor Watson,
and
Nicole Sganga
contributed to this report.
