This week, the President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team began announcing more members of the Cabinet, only to learn of a sexual assault claim made against one of the previous nominations, Pete Hegseth, shocking some members of the Trump team, who have since started to question how viable his nomination is, two people close to the situation said.
Trump’s pick for Hegseth to replace Gen. Mattis as defense secretary came just a few days after the team first considered the veteran of the war turned Fox News and very little internal vetting. Within less than 48 hours, the leaders of Trump’s transition team were presented with a sexual assault claim against Hegseth.
To the campaign was provided information that is consistent with what the police in Monterey, California, already stated to be “an alleged sexual assault” allegation case of Hegseth, which occurred on October 8, 2017.
Hegseth speaks at the annual conference of the California Federation of Republican Women at a hotel, during which the alleged attack occurred. In the intervening years since 2017, Hegseth has not faced any criminal charges nor has he been a named defendant in any civil action filed in Monterey County, with his lawyer contending that he has done nothing wrong.
However, the severity of the claims prompted Wiles to reach out to Hegseth on Thursday during a call, the source informed CNN. Wiles had Hegseth explain if there were any other concerns they should be aware of following forward.
