Sen. Lindsey Graham says Hegseth has pledged to release accuser from confidentiality agreement
By Jack Forrest, CNN
(CNN) — Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday that Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, promised to release the woman who accused him of sexual assault from a confidentiality agreement.
Graham told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Hegseth “told me he would release her from that agreement,” adding, “I’d want to know if anybody nominated for a high-level job in Washington legitimately assaulted somebody.”
Hegseth, a veteran and former Fox News anchor, has faced a tough confirmation process as allegations emerged related to his workplace behavior and treatment of women, including a surfaced sexual assault allegation from 2017. Hegseth has denied the allegation, and no charges were brought.
Years later, Hegseth reached a settlement with the accuser that included a confidentiality clause. His lawyer, Tim Parlatore, told CNN last month that Hegseth settled because it was during the #MeToo movement and he didn’t want to lose his job at Fox News if the accusation became public.
Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said the accuser would need to make her claims publicly for them to be considered. “If people have an allegation to make, come forward and make it like they did in Kavanaugh. We’ll decide whether or not it’s credible,” he said, referring to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was confirmed despite accusations he assaulted a woman when they were teenagers in the 1980s.
CNN has reached out to Trump’s transition team for comment.
Graham’s Sunday comments come after Parlatore told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source” this month that he sent a notice to the accuser’s attorney that the settlement agreement — which mandated confidentiality from both parties — “no longer has any force in effect” because it has been breached.
“If she wants to go and talk about it, she can do it. I mean, certainly, she would do it at her own peril of a further defamation lawsuit,” Parlatore said of the woman. He said Hegseth’s legal team would consider bringing a civil lawsuit against the woman if Hegseth is not confirmed.
Hegseth’s nomination appeared to be in jeopardy over the 2017 sexual assault allegation as even Trump’s allies in Congress expressed concerns. The president-elect has continued to back Hegseth, however, setting up a challenge for any GOP senator who might go up against the pick. Hegseth has been meeting with senators crucial to his confirmation chances and has made headway among some potential holdouts, CNN previously reported.
Graham said Sunday he is “in a good place” with Hegseth and will vote to confirm him “unless something I don’t know about comes out.”
“He’s given me his side of the story. It makes sense to me. I believe him,” Graham said. “Unless somebody’s willing to come forward, I think he’s gonna get through.”
CNN’s Kaanita Iyer, Clare Foran, Manu Raju, Lauren Fox and Kristin Chapman contributed to this report.
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