Former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Defense secretary, will free a woman from a nondisclosure agreement related to the 2017 sexual misconduct allegations, or so says Sen. Lindsey Graham.
“He told me he would release her from that agreement,” Graham, R-S.C., said in an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sunday.
The senior Republican senator added, “Just think about what we’re talking about — I’d want to know if anybody nominated for a high-level job in Washington legitimately assaulted somebody.”
Hegseth was side-by-side with Trump at the Army-Navy football game on Saturday, along with Vice President-elect JD Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson and several other Trump nominees. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Navy veteran who has been floated as a potential pick for Defense secretary if Hegseth’s bid falls through, was on the sidelines at the game.
Lindsey Graham says situation is similar to what Brett Kavanaugh faced
Graham compared the situation to Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court in 2018. At the time, Kavanaugh was accused of sexual misconduct when he was in high school, and he denied these allegations.
“Five people accused Justice Kavanaugh of misconduct. Three were outright lies, the other two, I think, were not credible,” he said. “So we’re not going to let that happen to Pete. You’re not going to destroy his nomination based on anonymous sources.”
What are the allegations?
Last month, a woman sent the Trump transition team a four-page memo related to the 2017 incident. She claimed Hegseth sexually abused the woman, a 30-year-old staffer at the time, when she was under the influence of alcohol, according to the memo, obtained by The Washington Post.
The woman in question, who has remained anonymous, filed a police complaint after the 2017 incident. Roughly two years later, she and Hegseth entered a nondisclosure agreement after she threatened to take the matter to court. According to the Post, his lawyers and the Trump transition team maintain that Hegseth denied the allegations and that no charges were filed.
Trump team, Lindsey Graham defend Hegseth
More recently, Trump transition team spokesperson Karoline Leavitt in a press release touted Hegseth’s “extensive military experience” and “steadfast commitment to restoring the Pentagon and our armed forces to greatness will advance President Trump’s vision of returning meritocracy, accountability, and efficiency to the United States military.”
“I’m in a good place with Pete, unless something I don’t know about comes out,” said Graham. “These allegations are disturbing, but they’re anonymous.”
“He’s given me his side of the story. It makes sense to me. I believe him. Unless somebody is willing to come forward, I think he’s going to get through,” he added.
Would Hegseth be replaced?
Following the former Fox News host’s nomination and the pushback over the sexual misconduct allegations, reports indicated DeSantis was being considered to replace Hegseth.
Hegseth denied such a possibility, saying he spoke to Trump on Wednesday morning, as the Deseret News previously reported.
“He said, ‘Keep going, keep fighting. I’m behind you all the way,’” said Hegseth, a former National Guardsman. “Why would I back down? I’ve always been a fighter. I’m here for the fighters. This is personal and passionate for me.”