Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) said Sunday that former Fox News host and veteran Pete Hegseth, whom President-elect Trump has nominated to lead the Pentagon, will release the woman who accused him of sexual assault from a confidential settlement agreement. He announced that he plans to be released.
During an appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press,” Graham said Hegseth told him he intended to release his accuser from his contract.
“I mean, think about what we’re talking about,” he said. “I want to know whether someone who has been appointed to a high-level position in Washington has legally assaulted someone.”
Graham added that if accusers want their claims to be considered, they need to come forward publicly.
“The Pete Hegseth I know, this is not an issue that I was aware of,” Graham said.
“But if people have something to say, come forward and make your case like in the Kavanaugh case,” he added, referring to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. “We will decide whether it is reliable or not.”
Mr Graham also said Mr Hegseth was “being tried by anonymous sources” and advised anyone with credible allegations against him to come forward.
The woman alleged Hegseth sexually assaulted her in 2017 at a hotel in Monterey, California, while he was the keynote speaker at a Republican convention, according to police records from the time. The allegations surfaced shortly after President Trump announced Hegseth's nomination.
Authorities said the woman met Hegseth at an after-party event and doesn't remember much about that night other than waking up in a hotel room with Hegseth, but authorities say Hegseth was the first woman to meet her. He allegedly stole her mobile phone and prevented her from going out. She also reportedly said she believed she may have been raped and drugged, but no charges were filed in the case.
Hegseth denies the charges and says it was a consensual encounter with a woman who later regretted cheating on her husband. He said through his lawyer that he signed the non-disclosure agreement because it was at the height of the #MeToo movement.
Earlier this month, Hegseth's attorney, Tim Parlatore, told CNN that a civil extortion lawsuit against the accuser was being considered in 2020 before an agreement was reached.
