Former Fox News host Pete Hegseth’s attorney on Sunday confirmed to NBC News that Hegseth, whom President-elect Donald Trump has named as his candidate for defense secretary, paid a woman an undisclosed amount after she accused him of sexual assault.
“In 2023, Hegseth paid the complainant as part of a civil confidential settlement agreement and maintains his innocence,” Timothy Parlatore, Hegseth’s attorney, said in a statement.
He also denied that the encounter between Hegseth and an unnamed woman, which she alleges happened in 2017, was sexual assault.
