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Police report reveals new details in sexual assault allegation against Trump’s defense secretary nominee – Boston News, Weather, Sports

Police report reveals new details in sexual assault allegation against Trump’s defense secretary nominee – Boston News, Weather, Sports

(CNN) – A California woman told police that Trump cabinet pick Pete Hegseth physically blocked her from leaving a hotel room, took her phone and then sexually assaulted her, even though she “remembered saying ” “not much,” according to a police report obtained by CNN.

The 22-page report, released by the Monterey, Calif., city attorney’s office late Wednesday in response to a public records request, outlines competing narratives of what happened in new details — including conflicting accounts of how drunk Hegseth and the woman were and descriptions of video surveillance showing some of their movements that night.

Hegseth, who President-elect Donald Trump named as his choice for defense secretary, told police that their meeting was consensual and that he repeatedly made sure the woman was “comfortable with what was going on between the two of them.”

Seven years after the alleged attack, questions about what happened that night could jeopardize Hegseth’s nomination and appear likely to be central to his upcoming confirmation hearing.

Hegseth has not been charged with a crime in connection with the allegation. His lawyer admitted that Hegseth later entered into a settlement agreement with his accuser that included an undisclosed monetary payment and a confidentiality clause. Although Hegseth insisted the encounter was consensual, the lawyer said he feared the woman was ready to make an allegation against him during the #MeToo movement, which could have cost him his job as a Fox News host.

“This police report confirms what we’ve said all along, that the incident was fully investigated and the police found the allegations to be false, which is why no charges were filed,” Timothy Parlatore, Hegseth’s attorney, told the CNN Wednesday night — though the report doesn’t say police found the allegations to be false.

In a statement, Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump’s transition team, also said that “the police found the allegations to be false” and called Hegseth “a highly respected combat veteran who will serve his country with honor our when he is confirmed as the next secretary. of Defense, just as he served our country honorably on the battlefield in uniform.”

The woman who accused Hegseth of assault broke down in tears when asked about the matter by CNN reporters last week and declined to comment.

According to the new police report, the alleged attack took place in the early morning hours of October 8, 2017, after Hegseth spoke at a California Federation of Republican Women convention at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa the night before.

An attorney for the city of Monterey, who previously shared only cursory details about its investigation, wrote that the city is releasing a redacted version of the police report because it previously released a copy to Hegseth in 2021.

The report, which identifies the accuser as “Jane Doe,” summarizes police interviews with Doe, Hegseth, conference attendees and a hotel employee, and includes descriptions of hotel video footage police viewed.

The released records do not include copies of the video footage or a memo from the Monterey County District Attorney’s office that could explain why Hegseth was never charged. The DA’s office denied public records requests for its files on the case, citing state law.

The police report’s description of Doe’s account of the night echoes some of the details outlined in a memo written by a friend of Doe’s and sent to Trump’s transition team last week, which caused consternation among Trump aides, who they were caught off guard by accusation.

Both Doe and Hegseth, as well as several attendees interviewed by police, told officers that the two went with a group to the hotel bar, Knuckles, after the speech and a party in a hotel suite.

There, a conference attendee told police that Hegseth touched her knee and invited her to come to his hotel room. The participant said he declined the invitation and “gained Doe’s attention” and made her become what the report describes as a “leg blocker” — hoping that “Doe’s presence would circumvent Hegseth’s attempt to have sex ” with her. That participant left the bar and said Doe did not appear intoxicated “when he last had contact with her.”

Another conference attendee told police she saw what she described as Doe and another woman flirting with Hegseth at the bar. At the time, Doe was coherent and “did not appear intoxicated to the point where she could not care for her own safety,” the participant said.

Doe told officers he believed Hegseth was behaving inappropriately with the other women during the conference and texted someone that he was “giving off a ‘creeper’ vibe,” according to the report. Doe later told a nurse at the hospital that she “wasn’t sure, but she thinks he may have slipped something in her drink because she doesn’t remember most of the events of the night,” and the nurse reported that to police, it said in the report. The report also notes that Doe said he drank “a lot more than normal” that day.

Officers reviewed surveillance video from the hotel time-stamped at 1:15 a.m., which showed Doe and Hegseth “walking together, arm in arm together,” leaving the bar and heading toward the hotel pool, with Doe smiling .

Doe told police he remembered leaving the bar and arguing with Hegseth by the pool, where the two argued about his treatment of the women at the conference and Hegseth told him he was “a nice guy”. Police also interviewed a hotel employee who responded to guests’ complaints about the argument around 1:30 a.m. Hegseth told the employee “he has free speech” before he and Doe left, the employee recalled. The employee said Hegseth appeared to be heavily intoxicated, while Doe did not, according to the report.

Doe told police her next memory after the argument was in a hotel room with Hegseth. She told officers that Hegseth “took the phone out of her hands.” Then, she said, “he tried to leave the room, but Hegseth blocked the door with his body.” She said she “remembered saying ‘no’ a lot,” but didn’t remember much else, according to the report.

Then, she said, she remembered Hegseth on top of her on a bed or couch, his tags “hovering over her face.” She later told the nurse at the hospital that she “couldn’t remember whether or not there was any sexual penetration, but she believes she was sexually assaulted at that time,” the nurse told police.

Doe told police she remembered Hegseth ejaculating on her stomach before throwing a towel at her and asking her if she was okay. Doe told police she didn’t remember how she got back to her hotel room, but she did remember going into her room and getting back into bed.

Doe’s husband, who attended the conference with her, told police he was concerned when she didn’t return to their hotel room earlier that night and didn’t return until around 4 a.m.

Doe told officers that he “didn’t realize the incident involving Hegseth” until after he returned home. She went to a hospital and reported a sexual assault on October 12, where she underwent a rape kit exam and gave police the clothes she was wearing the night of the alleged assault. A nurse at the hospital first reported the alleged assault to authorities.

Hegseth, instead, told police the encounter with Doe was consensual. He said he was “furious” that night after drinking beer and recalled returning to his hotel room with Doe.

Hegseth said Doe “sat in the room and didn’t leave” and that he found it “strange” that she stayed in his room, according to the report.

As the night progressed, Hegseth said he made sure Doe was “comfortable with what was going on between the two of them” and that there was “always” conversation and “always” consensual contact. The two had sex, he said.

Hegseth said Doe asked him if he had a condom on and he didn’t. He said he asked her if that was a problem and she said no and he ejaculated on her body.

After they had sex, Hegseth said, she had a “very clear conversation” with Doe, who told her she was going to tell her husband that she “slept on a couch in someone else’s room.” He told police she had shown “early signs of remorse” but did not elaborate.

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