According to official records of a police investigation released Wednesday night, a woman told police that Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for defense secretary, took her phone, prevented her from leaving his hotel room, and then sexually assaulted her in 2017 following a Republican women’s convention in California.
The lady, identified only as Jane Doe, told an emergency department nurse days after the Oct. 7, 2017, event that she didn’t remember much else about and thought a substance might have been inserted into her drink, according to documents made public by the Monterey Police Department.
Hegseth denied any misconduct and was not charged. The report’s description of surveillance footage at the Monterey hotel, where the woman met Hegseth, and police interviews with other hotel guests, according to his lawyer Timothy Parlatore, demonstrate his innocence.
What I’ve been saying all along is supported by this police report, Parlatore told NBC News on Thursday. No charges were brought after the incident was thoroughly examined and the police determined that the claim was untrue.
The police did not explain why they did not charge him. Surveillance footage, according to the report, shows the woman, Hegseth, and an unidentified woman entering the hotel lobby and making their way to the bar at around midnight. Shortly after one in the morning, the two can be seen walking together with their arms entwined in another video, according to the story.
According to the report, the woman looked coherent and not drunk during the night and early morning, according to at least three witnesses who spoke to police.
Hegseth acknowledged paying an undisclosed sum as part of a settlement with his accuser last weekend, which gave rise to the accusations. Hegseth firmly believed that he was the victim of blackmail and innocent collateral damage in a falsehood that the Complainant was clinging to in order to preserve her marriage, according to a prior statement by Parlatore.
According to Parlatore, at the height of the MeToo movement, Hegseth finally made the decision to accept a settlement for a far smaller sum.
A request for comment over the report’s release from NBC News was not immediately answered by the Trump transition team. Hegseth has vehemently rejected all charges, according to a statement released last week by Trump communications director Steven Cheung, who also noted that Trump is selecting exceptional and highly qualified individuals to serve in his Administration.
Three prominent candidates for Trump’s new Cabinet have been accused of sexual misbehavior, including former Fox News presenter Hegseth.
According to the story, the unnamed woman approached Hegseth, a guest speaker at the event, because she did not like the way he handled women. She later went to a hospital for a sexual assault examination.
At an after-party, the woman claimed to have had a little amount of Champagne, but she couldn’t recall consuming any hard alcohol. Hegseth was reportedly also there when she and a group of other ladies proceeded to a hotel-affiliated bar, where she had more to drink.
“It became hazy at that point,” she informed the cops. According to the report, she claimed that Hegseth followed her out of the pub, which she attributed to their previous disagreement. She recalled Hegseth telling her he was a good man, she told the police.
The woman claimed that after that, she was in an unidentified room. She reported to the police that Hegseth asked her who she was texting, confiscated her phone, and then forcefully prevented her from leaving the room.
The study stated that Jane Doe recalled saying “no” a lot. The next recollection Jane DOE had is of HEGSETH being over her when she was lying on a couch or bed.
He was bare-chested, she added, and his dog tags were hovering over her face.
She threw her a towel and said, “Are you okay?” after telling the police that he had ejaculated over her tummy.
The woman claimed that the alleged meeting with Hegseth didn’t occur to her until she was back at home and that she couldn’t recall how she got back to her hotel room, which she was sharing with her husband. According to the report, she was examined at the hospital four days later.
On October 12, 2017, an ER nurse who cared for the accuser informed investigators about the alleged assault. According to the nurse, the patient requested a sexual assault examination and to be named as Jane Doe.
The nurse informed the police that the patient said she was unable to recall the majority of what had happened that night, including whether or not there had been any sexual intercourse. According to the report, the woman told the nurse that she thought something might have been placed into her drink and that she had been sexually attacked, but she did not want to reveal the identity of the suspect.
The complainant, her spouse, Hegseth, a hotel employee, and at least one other lady who attended the event were all questioned by investigators.
After the incident, Hegseth informed police over the phone on October 26, 2017, that he had sex with the woman in his hotel room, but that it was consensual and that he made sure she was calm about it.
According to the police report, he said that he had no intention of having intercourse with her and that he found it strange that she remained in his room. According to the report, she sat down in the room and remained there.
According to the complaint, Hegseth informed police that he and the woman would both stop and remark, “We shouldn’t do this,” but they proceeded together.
Hegseth claimed that the woman later promised to inform her husband that she had dozed off on a couch in someone else’s room. Hegseth said that she had early indications of regret, although he did not specify what those indications were.
She apologized and informed her husband that she must have fallen asleep when she returned to her own hotel room at around four in the morning, which he reported to the police. According to the report, he stated that she did not have difficulty walking and was not slurring her speech.
Police were informed by a hotel staff that Hegseth was quite drunk, but the woman was not; she was standing by herself and was perfectly sane.
According to a woman who was with them at the bar, the accuser had at least one alcoholic beverage at the bar and a glass of champagne and vodka at the after-party, but she appeared to be drunk and was able to function. According to the investigation, the accused seemed to touch Hegseth’s arm or body in an attempt to flirt with him.
After meeting with senators on Thursday, Hegseth told reporters on the Hill that he is eager to participate in the confirmation process and is not taking anything for granted.
Hegseth responded, “As far as the media is concerned, I’ll keep this very simple,” when asked if he had sexually assaulted a woman in Monterrey. I’m going to end it there because the case was thoroughly probed and I was found not guilty.
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