CNN
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President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary-elect Pete Hegseth paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault in a settlement agreement that included a confidentiality clause, according to Hegseth’s attorney.

Attorney Timothy Parlatore said Hegseth denies assaulting the woman and characterized the October 2017 incident in Monterey, Calif., as a “consensual sexual encounter.”

Monterey city officials confirmed last week that local police were investigating “an alleged sexual assault” involving Hegseth. The city declined to release information about the victim and said it would not release the full police report or comment further on the investigation, citing state public records law.

Hegseth has not been charged criminally and has not been named as a defendant in any civil lawsuits related to the incident.

In 2020, Hegseth learned the woman was considering filing a lawsuit, Parlatore said in a statement to CNN.

Parlatore said the payment to the married woman was “a significantly reduced amount” and that Hegseth, a veteran turned Fox News host, settled because he was during the “Me Too” movement and didn’t want to lose his job to the network if the allegation became public. The attorney’s statement did not say how much Hegseth’s accuser was paid in the settlement.

Parlatore said Hegseth felt he was being blackmailed.

CNN spoke briefly with the alleged victim Thursday. She became visibly distressed at the mention of Hegseth’s name, but declined to be interviewed without first contacting her attorney. She said she didn’t know what she was authorized to say.

The woman, whom CNN is not naming because she is an alleged victim of sexual assault, did not respond to subsequent requests for an interview. The settlement and privacy clause were first reported by the Washington Post on Saturday night.

The alleged attack occurred in the early morning hours of Oct. 8, 2017, at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa, and was reported by the woman four days later, according to the city’s statement. Hegseth was a speaker at a conference organized by the California Federation of Republican Women at a hotel around the time of the alleged attack.

The Monterey City statement added that no weapons were involved, but there were injuries — “contusions to the right thigh” — without providing further details.

Trump picked Hegseth as his defense secretary nominee last week despite having no military or public service experience, surprising both Pentagon officials and the former president’s allies. Trump’s announcement was quickly followed by news of alleged sexual assault ensnaring the president-elect. contingency transition team, CNN reported Friday.

Trump’s communications director defended Hegseth in an earlier statement to CNN, saying he “vehemently denied all allegations and no charges have been filed.”

“We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense so he can begin on day one to make America safe and great again,” said Steven Cheung.

CNN’s Kyung Lah and Scott Glover contributed to this report.