Trump’s pick for defence secretary paid woman who accused him of sexual assault

Washington: The appointment of Fox News commentator Pete Hegseth as Donald Trump’s defence secretary is under further scrutiny after it emerged he paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault as part of a settlement agreement with a confidentiality clause.

Confirming the payment on Sunday (AEDT), Hegseth’s lawyer insisted the encounter with the woman was consensual and that the military veteran turned TV pundit was “completely innocent”.

Pete Hegseth’s lawyer says the Fox News commentator paid the woman and that he is completely innocent.Credit: Getty

The sexual assault allegation has emerged in recent days, but The New York Times reported that Trump’s transition team has only recently learnt about the payment made by Hegseth.

Hegseth’s appointment was already under scrutiny after it emerged he was flagged as a possible “insider threat” by a fellow service member who received images of his tattoos, researched their meaning and determined they had sufficient connection to extremist groups to elevate the email to his commanding officers.

Hegseth’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, told The New York Times the sexual assault claims against his client were false and that he was “completely innocent”.

“Not only did she take advantage of him,” he said, “but we believe she then extorted him knowing that at the height of the #MeToo movement, the mere public allegation would likely result in his immediate termination from Fox News.”

The Washington Post reported that Hegseth is alleged to have raped the then-30-year-old conservative group staffer in his hotel room after drinking at a hotel bar in Monterey, California. The accuser filed a complaint with police days after the alleged assault on October 7, 2017, but the local district attorney did not bring charges. Police said they investigated the incident.

“This was investigated by the police at the time and they found no evidence,” Parlatore said.

After the woman threatened litigation in 2020, Parlatore said Hegseth made the payment and she signed a non-disclosure agreement.

Trump is reported to be standing by his selection of Hegseth, despite claims that members of his transition team are reassessing the pick.

Pete Hegseth, a Fox News commentator and military veteran, has been appointed Donald Trump’s defence secretary.Credit: Instagram

“President Trump is nominating high-calibre and extremely qualified candidates” for his administration, Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director, said in a statement. “Mr Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed. We look forward to his confirmation.”

Hegseth, who has played down the role of military members and veterans in riots at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and railed against the Pentagon’s subsequent efforts to address extremism in the ranks, has said he was pulled by his District of Columbia National Guard unit from guarding Joe Biden’s January 2021 inauguration. He’s said he was unfairly identified as an extremist due to a cross tattoo on his chest.

This week, however, a fellow Guard member who was the unit’s security manager and on an anti-terrorism team at the time, shared with The Associated Press an email he sent to the unit’s leadership flagging a different tattoo reading “Deus Vult” that has been used by white supremacists, concerned it was an indication of an “Insider Threat”.

J.D. Vance, the vice president-elect, came out swinging in defence of Hegseth amid reports highlighting the ink.

“They’re attacking Pete Hegseth for having a Christian motto tattooed on his arm,” he posted on X.

“This is disgusting anti-Christian bigotry from the AP, and the entire organisation should be ashamed of itself.”

Hegseth reposted Vance’s comments, adding it showed the “anti-Christian bigotry in the media on full display”.

“They can target me – I don’t give a damn – but this type of targeting of Christians, conservatives, patriots and everyday Americans will stop on DAY ONE at DJT’s [Donald J Trump’s] DoD [Department of Defence],” Hegseth wrote.

Trump nominated Hegseth – author of books including Battle for the American Mind and The War on Warriors – as part of his push to fill major administration posts quickly. The defence role has by convention gone to former military leaders, politicians or government officials with decades of experience, so his confirmation by the Senate would be an unconventional move.

On Sunday (AEDT), Trump made a further cabinet announcement, appointing oil and gas industry executive Chris Wright, a staunch defender of fossil fuel use, to lead the Department of Energy.

Wright is the founder and chief executive of Liberty Energy, a North American energy company with links to a fracking project in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin.

Wright has called climate change activists alarmist and has likened efforts to combat global warming to Soviet-style communism. “There is no climate crisis, and we’re not in the midst of an energy transition, either,” Wright said in a video posted to his LinkedIn profile last year.

Liberty Energy chief executive Chris Wright is a staunch defender of fossil fuel use.Credit: LinkedIn

Wright, who does not have any political experience, has written extensively on the need for more fossil fuel production to lift people out of poverty.

Bloomberg, AP, staff reporters

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