Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s pick as defense secretary and a former Fox News host, was investigated in 2017 for “an alleged sexual assault” at a California hotel where a meeting of Republican women was taking place, police said Friday.
Hegseth was not charged with a crime and the City of Monterey Police Department did not release any information about the alleged victim, who reported the incident on Oct. 12 of that year, in its statement, which cited a police report.
Police said the alleged attack occurred sometime between midnight Oct. 7 and 7 a.m. Oct. 8 at the address of the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa on Del Monte Golf Course.
According to the organization’s website, the National Federation of Republican Women was holding a convention at the hotel at the time.
The accusation, first reported by Vanity Fair, came as Hegseth recently drew fire for saying, among other things, that he believes women should not serve in combat and that he wants the military to be purged of “woke” officials that support diversity. equality and inclusion initiatives.
Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, said “the police statement speaks for itself.”
“He was acquitted,” Parlatore said in a telephone interview. ‘I can’t say much more. It didn’t happen.’
Trump communications director Steven Cheung released a statement defending Hegseth.
“President Trump is nominating highly qualified and extremely qualified candidates for his administration,” Cheung wrote. “Mr. Hegseth has strongly denied all allegations and no charges have been filed. We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense so he can get to work on day one to make America safe and great again.”
Fox News, the National Federation of Republican Women and Hyatt Regency hotels did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hegseth’s last day at Fox News was Tuesday, the day of Trump’s announcement, the network previously said.
Hegseth, 44, is a combat veteran who was a captain in the Army National Guard. He served overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
He started working at Fox News in 2014 and began co-hosting “Fox & Friends Weekend” in 2017.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com