Lindsey Graham Says Pete Hegseth Will Release Sexual Assault Accuser From NDA | EUROtoday

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday mentioned former Fox News host and Pentagon secretary nominee Pete Hegseth would quickly launch a lady who accused him of sexual assault from a non-disclosure settlement.

“He told me he would release her from that agreement,” Graham mentioned on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“Yeah, I mean, 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,” Graham added.

Hegseth, who was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump final month, has been dogged by a sequence of surprising allegations about his conduct. An unnamed lady filed a police report after she claimed Hegseth assaulted her at a Republican convention in California in 2017. Hegseth has confused no expenses have been filed within the matter and maintained the pair had a consensual encounter.

He paid the girl an undisclosed sum in a settlement in 2023 which included a non-disclosure clause. Tim Parlatore, a lawyer for Hegseth, claimed earlier this month he believed the unnamed lady had already damaged the settlement and threatened her with defamation proceedings.

Other stories included claims that Hegseth was pressured to resign from two veteran teams amid allegations of monetary mismanagement. Another report included accounts claiming he repeatedly confirmed as much as work at Fox News smelling like alcohol. Representatives for Hegseth have denied the stories, though the person mentioned he would surrender alcohol if he’s confirmed to steer the Defense Department.

“I’m not going to have a drink at all. It’s not hard for me, because it’s not a problem for me,” he mentioned earlier this month on “The Megyn Kelly Show.”

Graham mentioned Sunday he was in “a good place with Pete” regardless of these accounts, “unless something I don’t know about comes out.”

“These allegations are disturbing, but they’re anonymous,” the senator mentioned. “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.”

“Remember, [Supreme Court Justice Brett] Kavanaugh,” Graham went on. “Five people accused Justice Kavanaugh of misconduct. Three were outright lies. The other two, I think, were not credible.”

Earlier this month Trump was reportedly contemplating changing Hegseth with different, safer selections together with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.).