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Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for defense secretary, was investigated for alleged sexual assault in 2017
Monterey, Calif. – Pete Hegseth, the Army veteran turned Fox News host selected by President-elect Donald Trump to be defense secretary during his second term was investigated for an alleged sexual assault in 2017, Monterey, Calif. officials confirmed.
In response to multiple public record requests to the city, including one from CBS News, officials released a public statement late Thursday evening about a 2017 police investigation into Hegseth. The statement form the City Manager’s Office and Monterey Police Department contained few details about the case and said they would not make any other public statements related to the investigation.
The incident allegedly occurred somewhere between a minute before midnight on Oct. 7, 2017 and 7 a.m. on Oct. 8, 2017 at 1 Old Golf Course Road, the location of the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel. A police report was filed with Monterey Police Department three days later, on Oct. 12, 2024.
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Police did not disclose the name or age of the alleged victim but did describe the injuries as “Contusions” “right thigh.”
The statement said no weapons were involved.
News of the sexual misconduct allegation was revealed on Thursday by Vanity Fair when the magazine reported that Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles, was briefed about the alleged sexual misconduct by Hegseth involving a woman, citing unnamed sources — one of whom reportedly said the incident took place in Monterey.
The allegation prompted a discussion among Wiles, Trump’s legal team and Hegseth, who described the allegation as a consensual encounter and a classic case of he-said, she-said, the magazine reported.
Timothy Parlatore, a former Trump lawyer who frequently represents current and former members of the U.S. military, told Vanity Fair: “This allegation was already investigated by the Monterey police department and they found no evidence for it.”
Hegseth is a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan with a handful of military medals, including two Bronze Stars, and has undergraduate and graduate degrees from Princeton and Harvard.
Since 2019, Hegseth has been married to his third wife, Fox News producer Jennifer Rauchet. The two were married at Trump’s National Gold Club in Colts Neck, New Jersey.
Hegseth and his first wife, Meredith Schwarz, divorced in 2009. He and his second wife, Samantha Deering, divorced in 2017, the year he was investigated for the alleged sexual assault.
Disagreement over Hegseth’s qualifications
Following Trump’s Tuesday night announcement that he would nominate Hegseth to be his defense secretary, many have questioned whether the 44-year-old co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekends” can handle managing the Defense Department, which has a budget of $842 billion, almost three million employees and 750 military installations around the world.
“The Pentagon is in need of real reform, and they’re getting a leader who has grit to make it happen,” said Trump’s pick for national security adviser, Republican Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida, in a post on the social media platform X. Waltz is a former Army Green Beret colonel.
Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, who served in the Army’s elite 75th Ranger Regiment in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Hegseth was not “remotely qualified” to be defense secretary.
“The SecDef [secretary of defense] makes life-and-death decisions daily that impact over 2 million troops around the globe. This is not an entry-level job for a TV commentator,” Crow said on X. “The Senate should do its job and deny this nomination.”
Hegseth’s controversial views
Hegseth is a longtime conservative and staunch Trump ally who has talked about changes Trump should make at the Pentagon.
He said the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Charles Q. Brown should be fired for “pursuing the radical positions of left-wing politicians.”
And he believes women should not be in combat for the U.S. military, a point he reiterated last week in an interview with “The Shawn Ryan Show” podcast.
Ahead of then President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration in January 2021, The Associated Press reported that 12 U.S. National Guard members were removed from helping to secure the event after vetting by the U.S. military and FBI. The members made extremist statements in posts or text messages or had ties with right-wing militia groups.
Hegseth revealed during his interview Shawn Ryan, a former Navy SEAL, that he was one of the National Guard members removed from securing the inauguration.
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Paris Hilton’s bill to protect minors at residential treatment facilities heads to president’s desk
Heiress, model and actor Paris Hilton is the force behind a bill headed to President Biden’s desk that’s aimed at preventing the abuse of minors at rehab and other residential facilities.
The House passed the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act in a bipartisan 373-33 vote Wednesday, after the Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent earlier in the week. It’s a cause that’s personal to Hilton, who says she was abused at residential treatment facilities as a teen. Hilton lived in a series of residential treatment facilities from the age of 16, testifying before Congress in June that she had been violently restrained, stripped of clothing and tossed into solitary confinement, among other experiences.
“Today is a day I will never forget,” Hilton wrote on Instagram. “After years of sharing my story and advocating on Capitol Hill, the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act has officially passed the U.S Congress. This moment is proof that our voices matter, that speaking out can spark change, and that no child should ever endure the horrors of abuse in silence. I did this for the younger version of myself and the youth who were senselessly taken from us by the Troubled Teen Industry.”
Now 43, Hilton has championed child protection legislation on Capitol Hill for years, encouraging lawmakers to pass regulations to help protect troubled teens from abuse at treatment centers. Hilton met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week, urging them to take up the legislation before the 118th Congress ends.
Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna introduced the legislation in the House and Senate, and they were joined by Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Tommy Tuberville and Republican Rep. Buddy Carter.
“Children across the country are at risk of abuse and neglect due to a lack of transparency in institutional youth treatment programs,” Khanna said in a statement. “The industry has gone unchecked for too long. Paris Hilton and other survivors of abuse in this broken system have bravely shared their stories and inspired change. I’m proud to lead this legislation with my colleagues to protect the safety and well-being of kids.”
The legislation creates a federal work group on youth residential programs to oversee the health, safety, care, treatment and placement of minors in rehab and other facilities. It also directs the Department of Health and Human Services to make contact with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to make recommendations about state oversight of such programs.
Hilton is the great-grandaughter of Conrad Hilton, who founded Hilton Hotels.
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