Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host and President-elect Donald Trump‘s left-field pick for defense secretary, was investigated by police in Monterey, California, in 2017, over a sexual assault allegation.
The Monterey Police Department confirmed in a statement Thursday that it had investigated an alleged sexual assault involving Hegseth seven years ago, citing “numerous inquiries” from the media about the alleged incident. Hegseth was not charged with any crime.
According to the police, the alleged encounter took place in the early hours of Oct. 8, 2017, at an address where the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa on Del Monte Golf Course is located. NBC News reported that the National Federation of Republican Women’s convention was taking place at the hotel at the time. A report was filed four days later, on Oct. 12.
The statement this week from police did not include any details about the alleged victim. Regarding injuries, it said there were “contusions to right thigh” but did not provide additional details. No weapons were involved, Monterey police added.
Hegseth’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, told NBC News that “the police statement speaks for itself” and that his client “was cleared.”
“There’s not much more that I can say. It didn’t happen,” he added.
Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director and soon-to-be White House communications director, said in a statement that Hegseth “has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed. We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense so he can get started on Day One to Make America Safe and Great Again.”
Trump’s announcement of Hegseth as his choice to lead the Department of Defense has put the former Fox News host under intense scrutiny. (The network said Hegseth’s last day of employment there was Tuesday.) Hegseth is a combat veteran who was an Army National Guard captain, but his qualifications to helm the military have been called into question by Democrats and Republicans alike.
Several of Hegseth’s controversial comments have also resurfaced this past week. He has called Daniel Penny, a white Marine veteran who is currently on trial for killing a homeless Black man on the New York City subway last year, an “American hero.” (Penny has pleaded not guilty and has said he had been trying to protect fellow subway riders.) Hegseth has also said he wants to purge the military of “woke” officials (a goal he shares with Trump), maintained that women should not serve in combat, and suggested that the rules of war should be changed to benefit the United States.