Trump’s Defense pick Pete Hegseth claims blackmail, paying off rape accuser during #MeToo movement

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, claims he was blackmailed during the #MeToo movement and paid an accuser to stay silent, according to his attorney, Timothy Parlatore, who spoke with The Post.  

Hegseth, a former Fox News host chosen for Trump’s Cabinet, paid an undisclosed sum to a woman who accused him of sexual assault. His attorney confirmed the payment but maintained that the encounter was consensual.  

“Basically, he was totally innocent. He did nothing wrong here,” Parlatore said. “We went through a mediation and ultimately settled for far less than what she wanted. And that should have completely buried it.”  

The Trump transition team reportedly received a memo last week from a friend of the accuser, outlining allegations against Hegseth, as reported by the Washington Post.  

The alleged incident occurred on October 7, 2017, in Monterey, California, and involved a staffer at a conservative organization. She accused Hegseth, now 44, of raping her in his hotel room after a night of heavy drinking. She was in her 30s at the time.  

At the time of the incident, Hegseth was staying at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa following a speech he delivered at the California Federation of Republican Women conference.  

Parlatore declined to disclose the amount paid or the identity of the woman but alleged that she was sober and initiated the encounter with Hegseth.  

“He had way too many drinks, and according to video surveillance and eyewitness testimony, this woman who was sober, took advantage of him, and she was the aggressor,” Parlatore said.  

“She took him by the arm and she led him up to his room.”  

However, the memo sent to the Trump transition team, which The Post has not independently verified, stated that the woman was responsible for ensuring Hegseth made it back to his room and to the airport the next day, according to the Washington Post.