Fox News host Pete Hegseth is facing increased scrutiny as details from a 2017 sexual assault report emerge. The 22-page police report includes allegations from a woman who claimed that Hegseth sexually assaulted her after a Republican women’s event in Monterey, California. The report states that Hegseth blocked the door to a hotel room, preventing the woman from leaving and assaulting her. Hegseth has maintained that the encounter was consensual, but the woman signed a nondisclosure agreement and was paid an unknown sum.
As these allegations resurface, Hegseth is set to visit Capitol Hill today to meet with JD Vance and Republican senators ahead of his confirmation process as Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary. In other US political news, the Senate rejected Bernie Sanders’ effort to block arms sales to Israel, President Joe Biden is set to sign a bill reauthorizing research on heart disease, and Trump is considering Johns Hopkins surgeon Martin Makary as the head of the Food and Drug Administration.
The police report does not conclude that the allegations against Hegseth were false, and the case has been recommended for review by the district attorney’s office. The report details the woman, identified as Jane Doe, witnessing Hegseth acting inappropriately with other women at the event and describes her encounter with him in the hotel room. The woman reported that Hegseth blocked the door, took her phone, and prevented her from leaving. She recalled seeing Hegseth fully nude and ejaculating on her stomach before throwing a towel at her. Hegseth has faced previous allegations of sexual assault, but has maintained his innocence and continues to deny any wrongdoing.
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