Lindsey Graham Says Pete Hegseth Will Release Sexual Assault Accuser From NDA
HuffPost
The Republican said he had spoken to the Pentagon nominee, and believed "his side of the story" after he was accused of sexual assault in 2017.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday said former Fox News host and Pentagon secretary nominee Pete Hegseth would soon release a woman who accused him of sexual assault from a non-disclosure agreement.
“He told me he would release her from that agreement,” Graham said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“Yeah, I mean, just think about what we’re talking about. I’d want to know if anybody nominated for a high-level job in Washington legitimately assaulted somebody,” Graham added.
Hegseth, who was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump last month, has been dogged by a series of shocking allegations about his behavior. An unnamed woman filed a police report after she claimed Hegseth assaulted her at a Republican conference in California in 2017. Hegseth has stressed no charges were filed in the matter and maintained the pair had a consensual encounter.
He paid the woman an undisclosed sum in a settlement in 2023 which included a non-disclosure clause. Tim Parlatore, a lawyer for Hegseth, claimed earlier this month he believed the unnamed woman had already broken the agreement and threatened her with defamation proceedings.
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