Pete Hegseth’s attorney has admitted there was a confidential settlement between President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary and an unidentified woman regarding an October 2017 sexual assault police investigation which did not result in charges.

In a detailed report from The Washington Post on Saturday, Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, told the Post that Hegseth was “visibly intoxicated,”when the alleged incident took place, claimed the accuser, whose identity has been kept confidential, was the “aggressor” and went to police days after the incident happened. Parlatore denied Hegseth was responsible for any wrongdoing in connection with the incident, and elaborated Hegseth paid the accuser an undisclosed sum of money due to the fear of the claim getting back to Fox News, his employer at the time, and “would result in his immediate termination from Fox.”

Mediaite reached out to Parlatore on Friday, following Gabriel Sherman’s Vanity Fair exclusive report that the Trump transition team held an emergency meeting upon learning about the alleged sexual misconduct incident — after Mediaite learned that Hegseth could have paid off the woman in a confidential settlement, according to sources — but did not receive a response.

A former Fox News employee told Mediaite that the former Fox News host is a “national security threat” and should not hold such a powerful post in Trump’s administration.

“Pete Hegseth is a walking national security threat. Pete’s penchant for pretty women and penchant for alcohol makes him primed to be compromised by governments who wish to do us harm,” the former Fox News employee said.

The Washington Post reported that a copy of a memo they obtained written by a friend of the unidentified accuser was sent to the Trump transition team and “alleged he raped the then-30-year-old conservative group staffer in his room after drinking at a hotel bar.”

According to the Post:

“Jane Doe didn’t remember anything until she was in Hegseth’s hotel room and then stumbling to find her hotel room.” The memo said that her memory of six to nine hours “was very hazy,” and that her husband was searching for her and was relieved when she finally showed up. The following day, the woman returned home and “had a moment of hazy memory of being raped the night before, and had a panic attack,” the memo said.

The woman then went to the emergency room, where she received a rape-kit examination that “was positive for semen,” the memo said. The woman gave county authorities a statement about what happened, according to the memo sent to the transition team.”

Early Friday, Mediaite obtained a statement from by the Public Information Officer for the City of Monterey:

The City provides that information, which is set forth below: 1. Date, time, and location of occurrence: Between 10/07/2017 at 2359 hours and 10/08/2017 at 0700 hours, 1 Old Golf Course Road 2. Date/Time of Report: 10/12/2017 at 1223 hours 3. Name/Age of Victim: Confidential 4. Factual circumstances surrounding the incident: The Monterey Police Department investigated an alleged sexual assault at 1 Old Golf Course Road. 5. A general description of any injuries, property, or weapons involved: No weapons or property involved. Contusions to right thigh. The City of Monterey will not be making any other remarks related to this inquiry.

Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director, pushed back on the allegations to Vanity Fair. Mediaite has sought comment from Trump’s transition, but has not heard back at the time of this story’s publication. In a statement, a Fox News spokesperson told Mediaite, “Fox News Media was not made aware of the incident or the settlement.”

Joe DePaolo contributed reporting.

The post Pete Hegseth Paid Off a Woman Who Made a Sexual Assualt Claim Against Him: Report first appeared on Mediaite.

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