Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Defense, was investigated for an alleged sexual assault in California seven years ago.
The city manager's office in Monterey confirmed the sexual assault investigation in a news release on Thursday that provided few details. Hegseth's lawyer and a Trump spokesman told Vanity Fair, which first reported the allegation, that no criminal charges were filed.
News of the allegation follows surprise at Hegseth's appointment among some Republicans and some in military circles. Hegseth served with the Minnesota National Guard and conducted three tours of Iraq and Afghanistan as a platoon leader and civil-military operations officer. He later became a Fox News commentator. If his appointment is confirmed by the Senate, Hegseth would replace Lloyd Austin, a retired four-star general.
The city said an incident involving Hegseth was reported to have occurred between 11:59 p.m. on October 7, 2017, and 7 a.m. the following morning at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa on Del Monte Golf Course. It was reported to police on October 12, 2017.
"The Monterey Police Department investigated an alleged sexual assault at 1 Old Golf Course Road," the city said in the release. It said the victim's name was confidential and no weapons were involved, but that there were "contusions to right thigh."
The city said it would not release the full police report, saying it was exempt from public disclosure.
"The City of Monterey will not be making any other remarks related to this inquiry," the news release added.
Newsweek contacted the Monterey County District Attorney's Office for comment via email early Friday.
The disclosure came after Vanity Fair reported earlier on Thursday that Trump's transition team learned of a sexual misconduct allegation against Hegseth on Wednesday night, citing unnamed sources. Trump's incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and Trump's lawyers spoke to Hegseth about it Thursday, according to the magazine.
Hegseth said in that meeting that the allegation stemmed from a consensual sexual encounter and characterized it as a "he-said, she-said" incident, according to one source cited by the magazine. Newsweek is not able to verify these reports.
Hegseth's attorney Timothy Parlatore told Vanity Fair on Thursday evening that the "allegation was already investigated by the Monterey police department and they found no evidence for it." Newsweek has contacted Parlatore for further comment via email.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung told the magazine that Hegseth has "vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed."
He said: "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."
Hegseth has called for a purge of "woke" military leaders, argued that women should not serve in combat roles and advocated for pardoning service members charged with war crimes. He left the Army in 2021, according to Reuters, after being labeled an "extremist" he said, and that the Army did not want him. In his book The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free, Hegseth wrote that the feeling was mutual: "I didn't want this Army anymore either."
Mark Cancian, a former marine who is now a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told The Associated Press that Hegseth has "an excellent background as a junior officer but does not have the senior national security experience that secretaries need."
A senior military officer, who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity, said Hegseth's selection is raising concerns about whether he has the practical experience to manage a large department with an enormous budget.
This was echoed by former Trump White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin, who described Hegseth as "a nice guy," adding that she was "grateful for his service."
"But this is not a person who's prepared to lead a 3 million person workforce at the Pentagon," Griffin said on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360. "And I would just say this: Donald Trump does have a mandate. He was elected ... but if he's trying to actually ruffle feathers and get some change at the Pentagon, you don't send someone in who's never stepped foot in the Pentagon, never worked there."
Others welcomed the appointment. In a post on X, Hillel Neuer, executive director of United Nations Watch, wrote: "As the next U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth will finally return the focus of the U.S. Military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability and excellence."
Trump has announced a slew of additional choices for his second administration since his election victory last week. On Tuesday, he picked Republican South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and John Ratcliffe—former Texas congressman and national intelligence chief during Trump's first administration—as CIA director.
On Wednesday, he nominated Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz to be his next attorney general, arguably his most controversial Cabinet pick, and someone who will likely face an uphill Senate confirmation battle.
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