A 2017 police report made public Wednesday details statements made by Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Defense Secretary, and a woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her in his hotel room in California.
Pete Hegseth, the nominee, has denied the allegations and has never been charged over the incident.
In response to the release of the police report, Timothy Parlatore, an attorney representing Hegseth, told The Epoch Times in an email that: “This police report confirms what I have said all along that the incident was fully investigated and police found the allegations to be false, which is why no charges were filed.”
The 22-page report was obtained by The Epoch Times through a public records act request.
Police Report Details
The woman, who says she was assaulted, told police in Monterey, California, that she met Hegseth at a conference after he spoke at an event. The woman, who has not been identified publicly, told police she later witnessed Hegseth behaving inappropriately with other women and argued with him outside a bar about his actions.
The woman said her next memory was being in an unknown room with Hegseth. She alleged Hegseth took her phone and prevented her from leaving. She told police she kept saying “no.” She said her next memory involved a sexual assault, according to the police report. She remembered walking into her own hotel room and falling asleep there, the report states.
The woman told police she had been drinking that evening and she didn’t remember how many drinks she consumed. She suggested she consumed a drink at the bar that had been drugged.
A witness told police that Hegseth was “very intoxicated” while the woman was not. Another witness said that the woman was drinking but was coherent. Hegseth told the police he was “buzzed but not intoxicated,” an officer wrote in the report.
Hegseth told the police that he went to his hotel room from the bar with the woman, and that the woman would not leave. He said the encounter progressed to consensual sex. He said he several times made sure the woman consented.
Parlatore previously said that the woman was the “aggressor,” that Hegseth was falsely accused, and that he was the victim of blackmail. He said Hegseth paid the woman in a confidential settlement because she threatened to sue him and he did not want to lose his job as a host for Fox News.
No Case Brought
The police report says an officer recommended forwarding the case to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office for review. Police did ultimately forward the case, Monterey officials said. The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office, which never charged Hegseth, told The Epoch Times in an email that “no charges were supported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The Trump transition team said it stands by Hegseth.
“This report corroborates what Mr. Hegseth’s attorneys have said all along: the incident was fully investigated, and no charges were filed because police found the allegations to be false,” a spokeswoman for the transition told The Epoch Times via email.
“Pete Hegseth is a highly-respected combat veteran who will honorably serve our country when he is confirmed as the next Secretary of Defense, just like he honorably served our country on the battlefield in uniform.”
Monterey officials had initially declined to release the report, but said on Nov. 20 they were making a redacted version that does not identify the woman or any witnesses because the report had already been disclosed to Hegseth in 2021. As a result, they said, the version was not exempt from the California Public Records Act.
From The Epoch Times