Lindsey Graham told Meet the Press that Donald Trump’s defense secretary pick, Pete Hegseth, plans on releasing the woman who accused him of sexual assault from her nondisclosure agreement, essentially forcing her to choose between saying nothing or going public with her story and subjecting herself to vile partisan attacks.
“He told me he would release her from that agreement,” Graham said. “I would want to know if anybody nominated for a high-level job in Washington legitimately assaulted somebody.
“If people have an allegation to make, come forward and make it,” the South Carolina senator added. “We’ll decide whether or not it’s credible. Right now [Hegseth is] being tried by anonymous sources. That will not stand.”
Despite Graham’s objections to “anonymous” allegations, the woman in question filed a police report against Hegseth, accusing him of sexual assault in 2017. The police report noted that she had bruises on her thigh. The defense secretary nominee and former Fox & Friends host later paid the woman an undisclosed sum.
Trump and Senate Republicans have done a 180 on Hegseth, from calling his allegations “very disturbing” to now being “in a good place with Pete,” as Graham said. Hegseth has been accused of sexual harassment, financial mismanagement of two different veterans’ groups, and workplace misconduct including intoxication and sexist behavior. Now the GOP is rallying around him in the same way they rallied around Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his 2018 nomination hearings. And as with Kavanaugh, they seem very prepared to make his alleged victim’s life hell.
“All of these are anonymous allegations. He’s given me his side of the story. It makes sense to me, I believe him. Unless somebody’s willing to come forward I think he’s gonna get through,” Graham continued. “Remember Kavanaugh? … We’re not gonna let that happen to Pete.”
