Pete Hegseth, a nominee for defense secretary by President-Elect Donald Trump, was recently implicated in a sexual assault allegation from 2017, which a police report has now cast doubts upon.
A 2017 police report suggests that the sexual assault allegations made against Pete Hegseth might not hold as initially believed, Breitbart reported.
The police document became public following a request through freedom of information, detailing the investigation that followed accusations during a Republican women's conference at a Monterey, California, hotel. The report includes multiple eyewitness statements and surveillance footage, indicating that the interaction between Hegseth and the accuser might have been consensual.
Notably, the accuser, a participant at the conference whose name remains confidential, claimed that she had limited memory of the night's events and suspected that someone may have tampered with her drink. She described parts of an alleged assault, saying she continually resisted Hegseth’s advances.
Despite these claims, closed-circuit television footage from the hotel showed her conscious and displaying affection towards Hegseth, contradicting her assertions of dimness.
According to the footage, the two were seen leaving the hotel bar early in the morning, visibly in high spirits and arm-in-arm, suggesting mutual consent rather than coercion. Additionally, a hotel employee observed her leading Hegseth toward his room, indicating her control over the situation and her clear consciousness.
Eyewitnesses also reported observing flirtatious behaviors earlier in the evening, further complicating the narrative laid out by the accuser. A guest specifically mentioned that she saw the accuser being friendly and physically engaging with Hegseth, which she described as typical touching signifying mutual interest.
Further into the night, the police report detailed how the accuser guided a visibly drunk Hegseth away from a disturbance near a hotel pool, a direction that led to his room. The testimonial from Hegseth asserts the consensual nature of their subsequent encounter, revealing that both parties intermittently acknowledged the inappropriateness of their actions, yet continued consensually.
Pete Hegseth also shared with police that following their encounter, the accuser expressed immediate regret, pre-planning her explanation to her husband for her absence that night. She confirmed this planned explanation when she told her husband that she had fallen asleep elsewhere, and he relayed the story to the police without noting any unusual behavior from her upon her return.
Former attorney and media personality Megyn Kelly reacted strongly to the accusations after reviewing the police report, questioning the credibility of the assault claim on her podcast.
Breitbart News conveyed statements from Hegseth’s lawyer, Tim Parlatore, last week, portraying the accuser as the leading figure in the incident. Parlatore detailed how the accuser not only initiated but also managed the progression of their interaction, emphasizing her sobriety and Hegseth’s intoxication, factors that made her the dominant participant.
The legal implications seemed to tilt at one point during the investigation, with authorities considering the possibility of charging the accuser due to inconsistencies and her behavior throughout the night.
In conclusion, the police report profoundly challenges the narrative initially set by the accuser against Pete Hegseth. Instead of clear evidence supporting the assault claims, the documented evidence points to a potentially consensual encounter shadowed by subsequent regret and allegations. This case highlights the complexities involved in high-profile assault allegations and the importance of thorough investigation to distinguish between consent and coercion in ambiguous social interactions.
