According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Pete Hegseth, the nominee for Defense Secretary, paid his accuser, Jane Doe $50,000 as part of a settlement agreement.
Hegseth was accused of sexual assault in 2017 by Doe. Doe met Hegseth at a Republican Conference in October of that year in a Monterey hotel.
Hegseth had sent the accuser an official cease-and-desist notice in 2020.
Hegseth’s lawyer denied that his client had done anything wrong, but said publicly that the woman was being paid to prevent the case from becoming public during a time of tension in the #MeToo age.
Hegseth paid the woman, and the agreement had been reported previously. The Associated Press first reported the details of the $50,000 payout. Now, they have confirmed them for the first.
The payment figure was made available in response to Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) questions.
Hegseth denied that he had sexually abused the woman and claimed it was an affair they both agreed to.
In a police report the woman said that she believed she had been drugged in a hotel bar, and she barely remembered most of the evening. She noted that she woke up in a room where Hegseth was on top of her, and Hegseth prevented her from leaving.
Hegseth passed a crucial procedural vote in the Senate on Thursday and is now on track to receive a full confirmation Friday night. Two GOP senators have come out against him. Hegseth cannot afford to lose another vote.
Hegseth faces numerous allegations of inappropriate behavior. These include heavy drinking at work and financial mismanagement in two veteran groups that he led. Hegseth denies all allegations.
