皮特·海格塞斯，唐纳德·特朗普的挑选国防部长Hegseth的律师周六在一份声明中表示，作为和解协议的一部分，他在2017年向一名指控他性侵犯的女子支付了费用。
这位前《福克斯新闻频道》明星的律师蒂姆·帕拉托雷(Tim Parlatore)在声明中表示，Hegseth在2020年12月和解，只是因为他担心如果她的指控被公开，他的职业生涯会受到影响。Parlatore表示，Hegseth是2017年10月7日在加利福尼亚州举行的共和党妇女大会后，一名身份不明的女子进行“勒索”和“虚假性侵犯指控”的受害者。
“知道这是MeToo运动的高潮，任何公开指控都会导致他立即被福克斯解雇，黑格斯最终决定达成和解，金额大幅减少，”声明称。
在帕拉托雷的讲述中，赫格塞斯在一次聚会后的活动中遇到了这名女子，在那里他“明显喝醉了”。这名女子“拉着他的胳膊把他带到了酒店房间”，两人在那里进行了“两厢情愿的性接触”。
“原告是发起性行为的侵犯者，”Parlatore写道。
作为美国广播公司新闻之前报道过几天后，该女子向警方报案，但没有提出任何指控。根据Parlatore的说法，两年后，该女子“开始吵着要对Hegseth先生提起诉讼。”她的同事“警告了我们这种威胁”，促使Hegseth和他的法律团队给她发了一封停止信。
Parlatore没有透露和解金额。
根据《华盛顿邮报》的说法，议员的声明首次报道据称受害者的一位朋友上周向特朗普过渡官员发送了一份备忘录，提请他们注意这一事件。
据报道，ABC新闻尚未获得或审查的备忘录称，该女子——被邮报描述为当时30岁的保守组织工作人员——负责确保Hegseth在晚上结束时回到他的酒店房间。
在一个在X上发布，特朗普的团队表示，当选总统支持赫格塞斯。
“赫格塞斯先生坚决否认了任何和所有指控，没有提出任何指控，”特朗普的通讯联络主任斯蒂芬·张(Stephen Cheung)说。"我们期待着他被任命为美国国防部长。"
特朗普的团队尚未回复ABC新闻的置评请求。向过渡团队发送备忘录的人没有回应《华盛顿邮报》的置评请求。
根据这份备忘录，当赫格塞斯变得“迫切希望带她们上楼去他的房间”时，另外两名女性把她叫了过来。
在另外两名女子离开后，该女子“不记得任何事情，直到她在海格塞斯的酒店房间，然后跌跌撞撞地找到她的酒店房间。”备忘录中写道，第二天，她“对前一天晚上被强奸有一瞬间模糊的记忆，并出现了恐慌症”。
该名女子随后去了急诊室，强奸试剂盒检查“精液呈阳性”，《华盛顿邮报》报道称。
蒙特雷市官员在一份声明中说，警方调查了一起据称发生在2017年10月8日凌晨的“性侵犯”事件，地点是凯悦酒店。这一事件没有涉及武器，但据称受害者遭受了“右大腿挫伤”
在该市的声明中，Hegseth没有被认定为所谓的袭击者。受害者的姓名和年龄被列为“机密”
几天后，即10月12日，警方提交了一份报告。蒙特雷高等法院发言人告诉ABC新闻周四，档案上没有以Hegseth的名字作为当事人的记录。
Hegseth, Trump's defense pick, paid settlement to woman who accused him of sexual assault, lawyer says
Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump'spick for defense secretary, paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017 as part of a settlement agreement, an attorney for Hegseth said in a statement on Saturday.
Tim Parlatore, a lawyer for the former Fox News star, said in the statement that Hegseth settled in December 2020 only because he feared his career would suffer if her allegations were made public. Parlatore said Hegseth was the victim of "blackmail" and "false claims of sexual assault" by an unidentified woman after a Republican women's convention in California on Oct. 7, 2017.
"Knowing that it was the height of the MeToo movement and any public accusation would result in his immediate termination from Fox, Mr. Hegseth ultimately decided to enter into a settlement for a significantly reduced amount," according to the statement.
In Parlatore's telling, Hegseth met the woman an event after-party, where he became "visibly intoxicated." The woman "led him by the arm to his hotel room" where the two engaged in a "consensual sexual encounter."
"The complainant was the aggressor in initiating sexual activity," Parlatore wrote.
As ABC Newshas previously reported, the woman filed a police report days later but no charges were filed. Two years later, according to Parlatore, the woman "began to make noise about filing a lawsuit against Mr. Hegseth." Her co-workers "warned us of the threat," prompting Hegseth and his legal team to send her a cease-and-desist letter.
Parlatore did not reveal the amount of the settlement.
According to The Washington Post, Parlatore's statement -- which wasfirst reportedby the newspaper -- came after a friend of the alleged victim sent a memo to Trump transition officials last week drawing their attention to the incident.
The memo, which ABC News has not obtained or reviewed, reportedly said that the woman -- who was described by the Post as a then-30-year-old conservative group staffer -- was responsible for ensuring that Hegseth made it back to his hotel room at the end of the night.
In apost on X, Trump’s team said the president-elect is standing by Hegseth.
“Mr. Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed,” Stephen Cheung, Trump’s communications director, said. “We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense.”
Trump’s team has not replied to ABC News’ request for comment. The person who sent the memo to the transition team did not respond to requests for comment from The Post.
According to the memo, two other women summoned her over when Hegseth became "pushy about his interest in taking them upstairs to his room."
After the two other women left, the woman "didn't remember anything until she was in Hegseth's hotel room and then stumbling to find her hotel room." The next day, she "had a moment of hazy memory of being raped the night before, and had a panic attack," the memo read.
The woman then went to an emergency room where a rape-kit examination “was positive for semen,” the Post reported the memo said.
Monterey city officials said in a statement that police investigated a "sexual assault" that allegedly occurred in the early morning hours of Oct. 8, 2017, at a Hyatt Regency. The incident did not involve a weapon, but the victim allegedly suffered "contusions to right thigh."
Hegseth is not identified in the city's statement as the alleged assailant. The victim’s name and age are listed as "confidential."
A police report was filed days later, on Oct. 12. A Monterey Superior Court spokespersontold ABC Newson Thursday there no records on file with Hegseth’s name as a party.
