An attorney for Pete Hegseth, the man nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as U.S. Secretary of Defense in his upcoming cabinet, has confirmed that Hegseth paid a woman who in 2017 accused him of sexual assault.
The lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, told The Associated Press on Sunday that Hegseth paid the accuser in order to avoid a lawsuit that could have threatened his job at Fox News, where he was a popular show host at the time.
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However, Parlatore denied any wrongdoing by Hegseth and said the sexual encounter between him and the accuser was consensual.
“He was falsely accused and my position is that he was the victim of blackmail,” he told The Associated Press, describing the incident as a case of "successful extortion."
Trump's transition team has not yet publicly commented on the allegation. However, it could further complicate Hegseth's chances of being confirmed to his post by the U.S. Senate.
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Hegseth, who has served in the Army National Guard since 2003 and ran to represent Minnesota in the U.S. Senate in 2012, isn't the only Trump cabinet nominee who faces an uphill battle of being confirmed.
Matt Gaetz, who Trump picked to lead the Department of Justice, has been facing an ethics probe in the House of Representatives for numerous allegations of wrongdoing, including sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. It's unclear whether that report will be released since Gaetz resigned from the House upon learning he was nominated to be attorney general.
Cabinet-level positions require Senate confirmation. And while Republicans will hold a majority in the chamber following the recent election, cabinet appointments like Hegseth and Gaetz will likely need the support of nearly every Republican senator in order to be confirmed.
