An attorney for President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Defense secretary threatened an extortion lawsuit against his client’s sexual assault accuser if he is not confirmed to lead the U.S. Department of Defense.
Tim Parlatore told CNN on Friday that the woman who has accused nominee Pete Hegseth of sexual assault could be brought to court for civil extortion if Hegseth were to file a lawsuit.
“It was something we were considering at the time,” Parlatore said. “Quite frankly, with the violation of the agreement, if he is not confirmed as secretary of defense, we may still bring a civil extortion claim against her.”
Trump’s nomination of Hegseth must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, where Republicans have a narrow majority.
Hegseth, 44, has come under fire for a 2017 sexual encounter in which a woman told police the former Fox News anchor blocked the door of a hotel room in California and sexually assaulted her. Hegseth has denied the allegation and said that the encounter was consensual. The woman reported the allegations to local police. Hegseth was never charged with a crime. He reached an undisclosed settlement with the woman in 2023.
Hegseth’s mother, Penelope, castigated her son for “abusive behavior” toward women for years in a 2018 email that the New York Times published last week. She has since apologized to her son and called publication of the email “disgusting.”
In addition, NBC reported this week that Hegseth’s colleagues at Fox News, where he has worked for the past eight years, were concerned about his alcohol use.
On Friday, Trump defended his nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Defense over the uncharged allegations of sexual assault. Trump’s next Vice President, J.D. Vance, also defended Hegseth on Friday.
“Led by President Trump, we’re fighting for Pete Hegseth. And we’re doing so because Pete Hegseth wil fight for our troops,” Vance wrote on X. “For too long, the Pentagon has been led by people who lose wars. Pete Hegseth is a man who fought in those wars. We’ve got his back.”
Trump nominated Hegseth to serve as Defense secretary, one the most important cabinet positions. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Hegseth would be responsible for the largest and most complex federal agency with an annual budget of $840 billion and 3.4 million military and civilian employees.
