Sexual assault allegation, women in combat: 5 controversies at Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing
Sexual assault allegations
Not long after being nominated, allegations surfaced that Hegseth had sexually assaulted a woman at a California hotel room in 2017. Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing, claiming that it was a consensual encounter.
Although a district attorney refused to file charges against Hegseth in 2018 over the alleged incident, saying that they did not have “proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” Hegseth reached a confidential settlement with the woman in 2023.
The incident was brought up on multiple occasions, with Hegseth responding that he was “falsely charged” and when it was “fully investigated,” he was “completely cleared.”
During his line of questioning, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., pointed to an email sent by Hegseth’s own mother in 2018 stating that Hegseth had “abused in some way” multiple women over the years.
“I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth,” she wrote, as quoted by The New York Times.
For her part, Hegseth’s mother would later tell media outlets that she had written the email "in haste" and with "deep emotions," and soon afterwards “retracted it with an apology email.”
