Trump’s transition team was caught off guard by the Hegseth claim

CNN
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President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team was in the process of announcing new cabinet picks this week when they were informed of a sexual assault allegation about one of his former picks, Pete Hegseth, that stunned several members of Trump’s team, who since has raised questions about the viability of his nomination, according to two people close to the situation.

Trump had announced he would pick Hegseth as his next defense secretary after only days of consideration by the veteran-turned-Fox News host and very little internal vetting. Within 48 hours, the leaders of Trump’s transition team were served with a complaint alleging sexual assault regarding Hegseth.

The campaign was brought information consistent with what Monterey, California, police described as an investigation into “an alleged sexual assault” involving Hegseth on October 8, 2017.

Hegseth was a speaker at a conference held by the California Federation of Republican Women at a hotel during the time frame of the alleged assault, according to photos of the event posted on Facebook. Hegseth has not been charged in any criminal case or named as a defendant in any civil lawsuit filed in Monterey County since 2017, and his attorney denied any wrongdoing.

But the nature of the allegations prompted incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles to question Hegseth during a call Thursday, a source told CNN. Wiles asked Hegseth if there were any other issues the team should be aware of moving forward.

Controversy over the selection of the US Secretary of Defense

Hegseth was never vetted by an outside firm before he was announced. Some people who previously worked for Trump when he was last in office and briefly considered Hegseth to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs noted that it was short-lived for similar reasons, without citing specifics.

A source insisted that despite the surprise, the president-elect and the transition team were moving ahead with the nomination at this point.

But in the days since, the allegation has only hurt Hegseth’s already shaky choice to run the largest agency in the federal government, which includes millions of service members and civilians and a budget of more than $800 billion. There was open speculation Friday in Trump’s inner circle about whether Hegseth would ultimately withdraw his own nomination, with several people worried that more damaging information could be in store.

The president-elect’s selection this week of Hegseth, a candidate with no senior military or public service experience, to serve as his defense secretary had surprised both Pentagon officials and the former president’s own allies.

But Trump’s communications director defended Hegseth in an earlier statement to CNN, saying he “vehemently denied any and all allegations and no charges were filed.”

“We look forward to his confirmation as US Secretary of Defense so he can get started on day one to make America Safe and Great Again,” said Steven Cheung.