Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, paid $50,000 to the woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017, according to answers he provided to a senator during his confirmation process that The Associated Press has obtained.
The written answers were provided to Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren in response to additional questions she had for Hegseth as part of the vetting process.
His attorney, Timothy Parlatore, declined to comment Thursday on the dollar figure, which was previously unknown. In November, Parlatore confirmed that the settlement payment had been made, and Hegseth told senators during his confirmation hearing last week that he was “falsely accused” and completely cleared.
News of the payment came as the Senate advanced Hegseth’s nomination along party lines, with a final vote on his confirmation expected Friday. Democrats — and two Republicans — have raised concerns about Hegseth, who also has faced allegations of excessive drinking and abuse of his second wife, which he denies.
Two days after Hegseth was grilled by senators at this confirmation hearing, Trump’s transition team briefed the two leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee on an additional statement that Hegseth’s second wife, Samantha Hegseth, had provided to the FBI.
In the statement that the transition team read Jan. 16 to Mississippi Republican Roger Wicker and Rhode Island Democrat Jack Reed, she said Pete Hegseth had and continues to have a problem with alcohol abuse, a person familiar with the FBI briefing and its findings told The Associated Press.
Reed has called Hegseth’s FBI background check substandard. He said in a statement Thursday that he and Wicker received multiple FBI briefings about the defense secretary nominee, something he had not seen in more than 25 years on the Armed Services Committee, and that “the recent reports about the contents of the background briefings on Mr. Hegseth are true and accurate.”
Parlatore, Hegseth’s attorney, said Thursday that “Reed is knowingly lying” because what Samantha Hegseth actually told the FBI is that Pete Hegseth drinks more often than not, but she also acknowledged that she had not spent time with him for about seven years.
Senators also received an affidavit Tuesday from a former sister-in-law of the Pentagon nominee alleging his repeated drunkenness and that he was abusive to Samantha Hegseth to the point where she feared for her safety. He and his ex-wife have denied that he was abusive, and Parlatore called the affidavit a “clear and admitted partisan attempt to derail Mr. Hegseth’s confirmation.”
Meanwhile, the $50,000 payment was made years after the woman told police that Hegseth sexually assaulted her in a California hotel room in 2017 after he took her phone, blocked the door and refused to let her leave, according to an investigative report released in November.
Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing.
The report does not say that police found the allegations were false. Police recommended the case report be forwarded to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office for review.
Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni said her office declined to file charges in January 2018 because it didn’t have “proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Parlatore has said the payment was made as part of a confidential settlement a few years after the police investigation because Hegseth was concerned that she was prepared to sue and that could have gotten him fired from Fox News, where he was a popular host.
