Pete Hegseth Faced Previous Sexual Misconduct Allegation
Trump's nominee to run the Department of Defense, the eminently qualified weekend FOX News anchor, Pete Hegseth, is under increased scrutiny just says after he was nominated. Why, you ask? Oh, just a little allegation of sexual misconduct from 2017. You would think that would come up in a basic background search prior to making a nomination to a major cabinet position in a Presidential cabinet. But we all know Trump cares more about image and loyalty than actual competence or quaifications.
The transition team was scrambling on Thursday when news broke. Trump's incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles, was told about the allegations and this led to Wiles and at least one lawyer speaking directly to Hegseth about the allegations. The incident is reported to have taken place in Monterey, California in 2017 when Hegseth "acted inappropriately" with a woman.
Hegseth claims that the incident was actually a "consensual encounter." Hegseth's lawyer, Timothy Parlatore (who I am 99% sure was also a Trump lawyer at one time) put out a statement basically denying the whole thing: “This allegation was already investigated by the Monterey police department and they found no evidence for it.”