Trump’s Pick for Secretary of Defense Paid Woman After Sex Assault Allegation
Archive photo of December 15, 2016 of war veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for new Secretary of Defense. Photo: EFE/ Albin Lohr-jones ARCHIVO
November 17, 2024 Hour: 3:11 pm
The candidate for the next Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, backed by President-elect Donald Trump, paid a woman to silence a sexual assault case against him from 2017 during a conservative convention, as his legal team confessed to The Washington Post.
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The woman who accused Hegseth of sexual assault in 2017 had bruises on the right thigh, according to a statement released by the city, but no charges were filed and the encounter was said to have occurred between 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 7 and 7 a.m. the following morning.
Hegseth’s lawyer, Tim Parlatore, claimed the sexual encounter was consensual and that the woman was the “aggressor,” and a payment was made to her as part of a confidential settlement to prevent a threatened lawsuit that could have jeopardized Hegseth’s job at Fox News.
When the woman threatened to report the case again three years later, Hegseth then agreed to a confidentiality agreement for her to withdraw the complaint in exchange for a sum of money, as the Post team of lawyers acknowledged, They have not revealed the name of the woman nor the amount that was paid.
But another source points to the version of sexual assault: a woman who claims to be friends with the victim sent this week a letter-to which the Post had access-to the Trump transition team in which she points out with abundant details that her friend, who was then 30 years old and belonged to a group of conservative activists, was raped by Hegseth in the latter’s room. The friend accompanied her in that forum and knew her from 15 years ago.
So far, Trump maintains his support for Hegseth and maintains his innocence. As Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the transition team, said this week, “President Trump is appointing high-level and extremely competent candidates. Mr Hegseth has categorically denied all the allegations, and no complaints were made”.
Autor: ACJ
Fuente: AP // Yahoo News // EFE