After President-elect Donald Trump picked Pete Hegseth, as his favourite for the post of Secretary of defence, it has been revealed that the former Fox News host was investigated for an alleged sexual assault in 2017 in an allegation that took place at a California hotel that was hosting a gathering of Republican women the police disclosed on Friday.
According to the police, it was noted that Hegseth was not charged with a crime and the city of Monterey police officials who released a statement did not cite any police report or provide any information about the alleged victim who was said to have reported the case since October 12 of the year of the incident.
The allegation, which was first reported by Vanity Fair, came as Hegseth recently drew fire for, among other things, saying that he believes women should not serve in combat and that he wants to see the military purged of “woke” officials who support diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
After the recent allegations, the director of communication for Trump, Steven Cheung, released a statement and defended Hegseth.
The statement stated that the president was taking his time to nominate high-calibre and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his Administration. The director further noted that Hegseth has vigorously denied any accusations, and no charges were filed. The statement further stated that they look forward to the confirmation as the United States Secretary of Defense in order to put in great efforts from day one to ensure that America is safe again the statement said.
Fox News, the National Federation of Republican Women and Hyatt Regency hotels did not instantly reply to a request for comment at the time of this report.
The network had earlier confirmed that Hegseth’s last day at Fox News would be Tuesday, the day of Trump’s announcement.
Hegseth, 44, is a combat veteran who was a captain in the Army National Guard. He served overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. He began working at Fox News in 2014 and began co-hosting Fox & Friends Weekend in 2017.
