President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to oversee the entire U.S. military, former Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, was confronted Thursday by a reporter who directly asked if he raped a woman in 2017, as described in a police report.

“As far as the media is concerned, it’s very simple,” said Hegseth, who was on Capitol Hill to meet with senators tasked with considering whether to approve him as the next US defense secretary.

“The matter has been fully investigated and I’ve been given the all clear and that’s where I’ll leave it,” he said.

The police report does not state that Hegseth was released; rather, he recommended that the case be referred to local prosecutors for review, the Associated Press reported.

Prosecutors may choose not to pursue a case for a variety of reasons, including the limited availability of witnesses, whether a jury might find those witnesses credible, and whether the alleged victims want to participate in the trial.

The incident allegedly took place at a Republican women’s conference hosted at a hotel in Monterey, California, where Hegseth had been invited to give a speech in October 2017.

A woman, whose name has not been released, requested a sexual assault exam at a medical facility days after she said she woke up with a vague memory of being assaulted by the Fox host.

She apparently confronted him earlier in a social setting because she felt he was behaving inappropriately around other women. The woman texted a friend that Hegseth had a “creeper” vibe about him, the AP noted.

She said “things became a blur” in the evening. Hegseth allegedly brought her to a hotel room, took her phone and blocked her from leaving. She said she remembers a shirtless Hegseth leaning over her, his tags hanging over her.

The nurse who treated her contacted police about the allegation, the AP said.

Hegseth, a Trump loyalist, has faced further pushback over his bid to lead the world’s largest military. He never achieved a rank higher than major while serving in the military and has poor leadership experience.

Do you need help? Visit RAINN’s National Online Sexual Assault Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center website.

Linked…