Tuberville praises Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s pick amid allegations of misconduct

After meeting Monday with Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville told reporters that Hegseth would be “great” for the job.

Tuberville said he did not speak with Hegseth about his “personal” life on Monday, but later clarified that they did speak on the phone about the misconduct allegations against Hegseth.

“I’m going to leave the personal matters between you and him whenever he gets a chance to sit down with you and explain, you know, the allegations that you’re all throwing around,” Tuberville told reporters.

In 2017, Hegseth paid a settlement to a woman who accused him of sexual assault, Tim Parlatore, Hegseth’s attorney, previously confirmed. Parlatore claimed Hegseth was the victim of “blackmail” and “false allegations of sexual assault”, and said he paid the settlement only because he feared his career would suffer if his allegations came to light public.

According to a 22-page police report obtained by ABC News, Hegseth’s accuser told police he took her phone and blocked her from leaving her hotel room the night of the incident.

Sunday, the New Yorkers published an investigation into Hegseth that alleged that “a series of documents, corroborated by accounts from former colleagues, indicate that Hegseth was forced to resign by the two nonprofit advocacy groups he led – Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for.” America – facing serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual misconduct and personal misconduct. »

The New York Times on Friday released an email that Hegseth’s mother, Penelope Hegseth, sent him in 2018, claiming he had regularly abused women for years. Penelope Hegseth confirmed the contents of the email to The New York Times in a telephone interview, but said in the Times interview that she regretted her initial feelings expressed in the email and had sent to his son an immediate follow-up email expressing regret for what had happened. she had said.

ABC News has not independently confirmed the reports from The New Yorker or The New York Times.

Speaking to reporters after their meeting, Tuberville praised Hegseth and sidestepped questions about his alleged misconduct.

“I’ve known him for a while. Pete is the kind of guy he’s going to work with. He’s got a great work ethic. He’s very, very smart. He understands the business side as well as the military side.” said Tuberville. “He’s actually fought in wars. He’s also a good age. Someone who can relate to the young men and women we need to recruit into the military.”

When asked if any of the allegations in the New Yorker article concerned him, Tuberville left the explanation to Hegseth.

“Well, I’ll leave that to his explanation of all of this. I can’t comment on that,” he said. “Obviously, if it’s to a certain extent, people won’t vote to confirm it, but what I know when I talk to him about what I’ve read, what I’ve studied and what I I’ve been around him, I’ll vote for him.”

As Tuberville answered question after question about Hegseth’s allegations, he was asked whether Hegseth should forcefully defend himself and provide an explanation to the American people.

“It’s up to him,” Tuberville said. “Eventually he’ll have to go out and start visiting the media. I think right now his number one goal is to go out and sell himself to, you know, at least 51 or 52 senators. That’s the work he needs to do to be confirmed.

Tuberville mentioned that a dozen senators would meet with Hegseth as a group Monday evening, but he did not provide further details.