Hegseth’s lawyer threatens to sue sexual assault accuser if she repeats ‘false’ allegations and it’s not confirmed

Pete Hegseth’s lawyer has threatened legal action against a woman who accused President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for defense secretary of sexual assault – if she repeats what he calls “false” allegations and his customer ultimately did not obtain confirmation.

Tim Parlatore said in a CNN interview Thursday night that a confidentiality agreement covering both her and Hegseth, as part of a 2020 deal with the former Fox News host, was no longer in effect , and that the unidentified woman, who filed a police report in 2017 alleging that Hegseth sexually assaulted her at a hotel, is now free to speak publicly about the matter.

However, Parlatore said he would consider filing a lawsuit against the woman for civil extortion or defamation if she made what he called false statements that jeopardized his client’s future in the Trump administration or “his future employment opportunities”.

“If she doesn’t tell the truth, if she repeats these false statements, then she will be subject to a defamation suit. But now that she – and she is well aware of this, her lawyer was well aware that in due to the violation of the agreement which is no longer in force, in fact, she is free to express herself if she wishes,” said the lawyer.

Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee that would hold Hegseth’s confirmation hearings, told CNN on Thursday that the threat to potentially sue Hegseth’s accuser was intended to intimidate him and was ” reprehensible.”

“What they are doing, essentially, is threatening or intimidating a potential witness,” he said.

Details of his allegations regarding the October 2017 incident were compiled in a Monterey Police Department report released last month. At the time, the woman told investigators she met Hegseth at a party at a California hotel where both had been drinking.

The woman claimed she didn’t remember how she later ended up in Hegseth’s room and said he sexually assaulted her, according to the report. Hegseth “took her phone out of her hand” and, when she tried to leave, “blocked the door with his body,” she told investigators.

Hegseth told investigators the sex was consensual. No charges have been filed. However, in December 2020, Hegseth paid the woman an undisclosed sum as part of a settlement because he feared his career would suffer if his allegations were made public, according to Parlatore.

The woman, who is only identified in the police report as Jane Doe, has not come forward publicly.

Hegseth has repeatedly reiterated that he has not been charged and has denied the assault allegations.

He has faced heavy criticism in recent weeks following reports about the incident and other allegations of excessive drinking, mismanagement, extramarital affairs and other controversies.

Trump stood by his selection, and Hegseth dismissed questions about whether he would withdraw.