The 2017 sexual assault allegation that has complicated Pete Hegseth's path to becoming the next defense secretary just took another turn. A report on the incident filed by police in Monterey, California, was released on Wednesday night, with the city attorney's office declaring that because Hegseth himself requested it in 2021, it was no longer private, reports the New York Times. The report doesn't change the broad narrative: The woman identified as Jane Doe suspects Hegseth assaulted her in his hotel room, telling a nurse that something might have been slipped into her drink, while Hegseth insists to police that their sexual encounter was consensual and that he and the woman spoke about that multiple times, reports CNN. Some of the details:
- "Jane Doe remembered saying 'no' a lot," the police report states. "Jane Doe stated that she didn't remember much else."
- The woman also said Hegseth "took her phone from her hands" and refused to let her leave by blocking the door, per CNN and the AP. She told the nurse that she "was not sure, but believes that something may have been slipped into her drink, as she cannot remember most of the night's events."
- Hegseth told police that there was "always" conversation as they had sex. "He did not want Jane Doe to get in trouble," the report quotes him as saying, a reference to her being married, per the Times. He says he kept making sure "she was comfortable with what was going on," says the report.
- The police report says hotel video shows the two leaving a bar (they were there as part of an after-party for a conference at which Hegseth spoke) with their arms locked together. Doe "appeared to be smiling," says the report, per Mediaite. They argued by the hotel pool, and an employee who responded to complaints said Hegseth appeared to be "very intoxicated," per the Times, while the woman didn't appear to be drunk. She had earlier texted a friend about Hegseth giving off a "creeper" vibe by hitting on women at the bar, per the report.
(Hegseth
paid an undisclosed sum to the woman to settle the allegations.)
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