Although The Fascist Guy’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, denies all allegation of raping an unnamed, conservative group staffer in his room after drinking at a hotel bar, he paid his victim as part of a nondisclosure agreement. According to a statement from his lawyer Saturday and other documents obtained by The Washington Post, Hegseth stated their encounter was ‘consensual.’
Hegseth claimed the reason for paying the ‘hush money’ was because he feared that revelation of the matter “would result in his immediate termination from Fox,” where he works as a host. The statement came after a detailed memo was sent to the Trump transition team this week by a woman who said she is a friend of the accuser.
The accuser, whose identity has not been made public, filed a complaint with the police alleging she was sexually assaulted days after the Oct. 7, 2017, encounter in Monterey, California, but the local district attorney did not bring charges. Police confirmed that they investigated the incident. After she threatened litigation in 2020, Hegseth made the payment and she signed the nondisclosure agreement, his attorney said.
The Fascist Guy’s spokesperson, Steven Cheung, offered these words of wisdom:
“President Trump is nominating high-caliber and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his Administration. Mr. Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed. We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense so he can get started on Day One to Make America Safe and Great Again.”
