Hegseth’s attorney threatens to sue sex assault accuser if she repeats ‘false’ claims and he’s not confirmed

(WASHINGTON) — Pete Hegseth’s attorney has threatened legal action against a woman who accused President-elect Donald Trump’s selection for defense secretary of sexual assault — if she repeats what he calls “false” claims and his client ultimately fails to get confirmed.

Tim Parlatore said in an interview on CNN Thursday night that a confidentiality agreement covering both her and Hegseth, part of a 2020 settlement with the former Fox News host, is no longer in effect, and that the unidentified woman, who filed a police report in 2017 alleging Hegseth sexually assaulted her in a hotel, is now free to speak publicly about the case.

However, Parlatore said he would consider a lawsuit against the woman for civil extortion or defamation if she made what he called false claims that jeopardized his client’s future in the Trump administration or “his future employment opportunities.”

“If she doesn’t tell the truth, if she repeats these false statements, then she will be subject to a defamation lawsuit. But now that she — and she’s well aware of that, her attorney was well aware that because of the breach of the agreement that is no longer in any force, in effect, she is free to speak if she wants,” the attorney said.

Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee that would hold Hegseth’s confirmation hearings, told CNN Thursday that the threat to potentially sue Hegseth’s accuser is meant to intimidate her and is “reprehensible.”

“What they’re doing, essentially, is threatening or intimidating a potential witness,” he said.

Details of her allegations about the October 2017 incident were compiled in a Monterey Police Department report released last month. At the time, the woman told investigators that she encountered Hegseth at an event afterparty at a California hotel where both had been drinking.

The woman claimed she did not recall how she ended up in Hegseth’s room later and said he sexually assaulted her, according to the report. Hegseth “took her phone from her hands” and, when she attempted to leave, “blocked the door with his body,” according to what she told investigators.

Hegseth told investigators the sexual encounter was consensual. No charges were brought. However in December 2020, Hegseth paid the woman an undisclosed sum as part of a settlement because he feared his career would suffer if her allegations were made public, according to Parlatore.

Hegseth has repeatedly reiterated that he was not charged and has denied the assault allegations.

He has come under heavy fire over the last few weeks over news reports about the incident and other allegations of heavy drinking, mismanagement, extramarital affairs and other controversies.

Trump has stood by his selection and Hegseth has dismissed questions about whether he would withdraw.