The members of the team of the new US president began to actively argue about the past host of Fox News and veteran Pete Hegseth, who is nominated by Donald Trump for the post of head of the Pentagon.
Points of attention
- Trump's team is at loggerheads over Pete Hegseth's nomination for defense secretary.
- Hegset's lawyer says the allegations were thoroughly investigated and found to be untrue.
- The scandal with the potential head of the Pentagon could be a serious blow to Trump's reputation.
What's wrong with Pete Hegseth
One of the main reasons for the discussion is the accusation against Hegseth of sexual violence against a woman, which allegedly happened 7 years ago.
According to one of the journalists' insiders, Trump's team learned that the potential head of the Ministry of Defense committed an attack in a hotel in Monterey after the Republican Party conference.
According to the woman, the victim of the violence was her friend, who later signed a non-disclosure agreement with Hegseth.
Importantly, Monterey police have already officially confirmed that they investigated Hegseth for "alleged sexual assault" in 2017, and that the incident did not lead to criminal charges.
Donald Trump's entourage was not ready for such a development and is afraid that this scandal will be a serious blow to the reputation of the American leader.
There is a lot of frustration around this. It was not properly vetted, one of the anonymous sources said.
How the USA reacts to this scandal
According to Hegseth's lawyer, the assault claim was "fully investigated and found to be untrue."
Journalists also asked the lawyer whether the potential head of the Pentagon had a non-disclosure agreement with the woman. The lawyer replied that "no other skeletons will surface."
Stephen Chung, Trump's communications director, also issued a separate statement on this matter.
The latter officially confirmed that the elected president supports Hegset.
President Trump is nominating top-notch and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his administration. Mr. Hegseth has vehemently denied all allegations....We look forward to his confirmation as US Secretary of Defense,” Cheung added.
