Pete Hegseth’s lawyer has issued a warning about the possibility of an extortion lawsuit against his client’s sexual assault accuser if Hegseth’s nomination for Secretary of Defense is not confirmed. Attorney Tim Parlatore told CNN that while the woman alleging sexual assault against Hegseth may not have engaged in criminal extortion, she could still be subject to a civil extortion lawsuit if Hegseth chooses to take legal action.
“It was something we were considering at the time,” he told the outlet, referencing when the accuser was planning to file a lawsuit in 2020 before a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) was signed, The Hill reported. “Quite frankly, with the violation of the agreement, if he is not confirmed as secretary of defense, we may still bring a civil extortion claim against her.” Hegseth is accused of sexual assault from an incident in 2017 when he served as the keynote speaker at a Republican conference in Monterey, California.
Police records from that time reveal that the woman involved stated she met Hegseth at an after-party but had limited recollection of the evening, remembering only waking up in a hotel room with him. She alleged that Hegseth confiscated her phone and prevented her from leaving, leading her to believe she was raped and possibly drugged. Despite these allegations, no charges were filed in the case.
Hegseth has denied the allegations, claiming that the encounter was a consensual affair with a woman who later regretted cheating on her husband. Through his lawyer, Hegseth stated that he signed a nondisclosure agreement because the allegations emerged during the height of the #MeToo movement, as reported by The Hill. The attorney further explained that by making her accusations public after Hegseth was nominated to be Secretary of Defense, the woman appeared to have directly violated the agreement. Parlatore told CNN that the woman’s false claim was “put out in violation of a settlement agreement.”
If that “causes him to lose his future employment opportunities, then yes, that is something that is worth bringing a lawsuit against,” the attorney said, adding that the agreement is no longer valid because it has “been breached” by the accuser.
Hegseth made a big announcement earlier this week that shook the corridors of power in Washington, D.C.’s expansive swamp. During an interview with SiriusXM podcast star Megyn Kelly, herself a Fox News alum, Hegseth said he told President-elect Donald Trump he was prepared to “fight like hell” for him and that he welcomed an FBI background check, which appeared to startle the host. “You’re going to get cross-examined by Democrats and potentially an FBI investigation — do you welcome an FBI investigation?” Kelly asked. “I can’t wait for an FBI investigation. Can’t wait. How soon can they start?” the SECDEF nom responded. “Really?” Kelly asked.
“Yes, because that gives me an opportunity for them to do a real investigation. What the media is doing right now is a witch hunt. It’s trial by false accusations and lies. The FBI is going to look through what’s there, and if they do their job properly—which I fully expect they will—they’ll talk to everybody and get the full story and a full understanding. That’s a report I welcome. So yeah, we’re not hiding from that one bit,” Hegseth, a former U.S. Army officer and combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, responded.