Trump defense candidate Pete Hegseth paid woman to cover up sexual assault case

US President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for next Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegsethpaid a woman in exchange for silence a case in which he was accused of sexual assault in 2017, during a conservative convention, according to what his team of lawyers admitted to the newspaper Washington Post.

However, the lawyers argue in a statement to the newspaper that there was no sexual assault and that their relationship was consensual, and they explain the payment because if she had continued to press charges, it would have cost her dearly. Hegseth, then a well-known commentator. , his work in the chain. Fox Television.

Last Friday, Monterrey police confirmed that Hegseth was actually investigated in 2017 for a possible case of sexual assault in a hotel in the Californian city where a meeting of Republican women was taking place, but this information was closed without knowing the reasons.

When, three years later, the woman threatened to report the case again, Hegseth entered into a confidentiality agreement so that she withdraw the complaint in exchange for a sum of moneyAccording to what the team of lawyers told the Post, they did not reveal the woman’s name or the amount that was paid.

But another source supports the version of sexual assault: a woman who claims to be a friend of the victim sent a letter this week – to which the job had access – to the Trump transition team in which she points out in great detail that her friend, who was then 30 years old and belonged to a group of conservative activists, was raped by Hegseth in his room. The friend accompanied her on this forum and had known her for 15 years.

Until now, Trump maintains his support for Hegseth and maintains his innocenceAs one of the transition team’s spokespersons, Steven Cheung, said this week: “President Trump is nominating high-profile and extremely competent nominees. Mr. Hegseth has categorically denied every accusation, and they have not filed a complaint.