Trump Selection Pete Hegseth Defends Against Allegations of Assault, Tattoo

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A California city released a statement about a 2017 assault accusation that resulted in no charges.

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, released a statement through his lawyer addressing reports that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017—saying that he paid the accuser to head off the threat of a baseless lawsuit. The lawyer also fielded allegations related to a tattoo of a cross on Hegseth’s chest.

Hegseth, a Fox News host, was accused of sexual assault in 2017 after a speaking appearance at a Republican event in Monterey, California, according to a statement released by the City of Monterey. No charges were filed.

His lawyer, Tim Parlatore, said Sunday that the woman who made the accusation days later was the “aggressor,” although the city did not mention that.

“He was falsely accused and my position is that he was the victim of blackmail,” Parlatore said.

Parlatore added that Hegseth’s encounter with the woman was consensual and that the payment was made to the woman as part of a confidential settlement several years after the police investigation because she threatened a lawsuit that Hegseth believed could have resulted in him losing his job as a Fox News host.

Parlatore called it a case of “successful extortion.”

The statement released by the City of Monterey, meanwhile, provided few details about the matter. It said that the name and age of the alleged victim is “confidential,” adding that there was a report of “contusions to [the] right thigh” involved in the alleged incident, and no weapons were involved.

The incident occurred between 11:59 p.m. on Oct.7 and 7 a.m. on Oct. 8, 2017, the statement said.

“Accordingly, the full police report, including its analysis and the conclusions reflected therein, is exempt from public disclosure pursuant to the aforementioned (California) Code sections,” the statement said, adding that the code only “requires limited disclosure of specific, non-private information relating to complaints or requests for assistance.”

Trump’s transition team had no immediate comment Sunday on the memo. The Epoch Times contacted his campaign for comment Sunday.

After the claims emerged about Hegseth last week, a spokesperson for Trump’s team said in a statement that the president-elect is “nominating high-caliber and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his Administration.”

“Mr. Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed,” spokesman Steven Cheung said in the statement. “We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense so he can get started on Day One to Make America Safe and Great Again.”

Aside from the report, Hegseth has spoken out against recent attacks regarding a Jerusalem cross tattoo on his chest as well as a tattoo on his arm that reads, “Deus Vult,” which is Latin for “God Wills It.” That motto first dates back to a Christian chant during the First Crusade in the late 11th century.

Vice President-elect JD Vance also defended Hegseth in response to an Associated Press report that claimed Hegseth was flagged as an “insider threat” due to the cross tattoo.

“They’re attacking Pete Hegseth for having a Christian motto tattooed on his arm,” Vance wrote in an X post late last week.

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

On social platform X, Hegseth wrote that “this type of targeting of Christians, conservatives, patriots and everyday Americans will stop on DAY ONE” if he is nominated to head the Department of Defense.

The “Fox and Friends” presenter served several tours in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and holds degrees from Harvard and Princeton.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.