This week, as Trump’s transition team was announcing new Cabinet picks, they were told of a sexual assault allegation against one of their prior picks, Pete Hegseth, which left several members of Trump’s team questioning the viability of his nomination, said two people close to the transition.
Former Secretary of Defense Mattis was suddenly replaced by President Trump who said he had chosen Hegseth as the next secretary of defense after having thought about the idea for mere days and without serious consideration by the White House.
It was within 48 hours that the heads of Trump’s transition team were presented with an accusation of sexual assault against Hegseth.
The campaign was provided information that corresponds to what Monterey, California, police described as an investigation into “an alleged sexual assault” involving Hegseth on October 8, 2017.
Hegseth was a speaker at the conference of the California Federation of Republican Women at a hotel where the alleged assault was said to have happened, the photos of the event on Facebook show.
Hegseth has not been charged in any criminal case or has been named as the defendant in Monterey County civil lawsuit since 2017, and his lawyer dismissed the allegations.
Wiles then wanted to know if Hegseth had any other concerns that the team should look out for in the future.
Hegseth was never cleared by an outside firm before he was announced. Former Trump associates and White House staffers, who weighed his brief consideration of Hegseth to run the Department of Veterans Affairs, said it was quickly abandoned for related reasons, although they did not elaborate.
Another source was quoted as saying that although the move caught them off guard, the president-elect and the transition team are set to go for the nomination at this time.
But in the days since, the allegation has only stirred up Hegsety’s already problematic nomination to lead the biggest bureau in government with millions of armed forces members and civilians and a budget of more than $800 billion.
It was openly discussed on Friday in Trump’s inner circle whether Hegseth might withdraw his own nomination after all, as some people feared that further material might be released.
The president-elect’s decision this week to nominate Hegseth, a man with no previous military or government service background, for the position of secretary of defense had come as a shock to Pentagon and even, it seems, to the former president.
However, in an earlier statement, Trump’s communications director stood for Hegseth saying that he has strongly denied any and all accusations made against him and no charges were made.
“We are excited to see him confirmed as the United States Secretary of Defense so he can work from day one to Make America Safe and Great Again,” Steven Cheung said.
