WASHINGTON — Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) on Tuesday pressed Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s protection secretary nominee, on whether or not he believes it must be disqualifying to be protection secretary if somebody has dedicated sexual assault — difficult Hegseth’s claims that he’d been “completely cleared” of any wrongdoing amid the allegations he’s confronted of sexual assault and infidelity.
Kaine grilled Hegseth in regards to the October 2017 incident in Monterrey, California, involving a lady who accused Hegseth of sexually assaulting her and stopping her from leaving his resort room. Hegseth has mentioned the encounter was consensual and that he was by no means charged with against the law. Particulars are murky, although, as he entered right into a nondisclosure settlement with the girl in 2020.
Throughout Tuesday’s high-stakes listening to, Kaine famous Hegseth was nonetheless married to his then-second spouse on the time of the alleged sexual assault and had simply fathered a baby by a lady who would later develop into his third spouse.
“I was falsely charged,” Hegseth mentioned. “Fully investigated and completely cleared.”
“So you think you were completely cleared because you committed no crime? That’s your definition of completely cleared?” the Virginia senator replied. “You had just fathered a child two months before by a woman that was not your wife. I am shocked that you would stand here and say you’re completely cleared. Can you so casually cheat on a second wife and cheat on the mother of a child that had been born two months before?”
As Hegseth started speaking about being “redeemed by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Kaine famous the protection secretary nominee had admitted to that infidelity earlier than citing the sexual assault allegations towards him.
“Now, if it had been a sexual assault, that would be disqualifying to be secretary of defense, wouldn’t it?” Kaine requested.
Hegseth didn’t reply the query instantly, as a substitute couching his response in regard to the allegations towards him particularly. “It’s a false claim then and a false claim now,” he replied. Kaine repeated his query, however Hegseth once more known as it a “false claim” and “a hypothetical.” The senator nonetheless didn’t let up.
“So you can’t tell me whether someone who has committed a sexual assault is disqualified from being secretary of defense?” Kaine mentioned.
“Senator, I know in my instance, and I’m talking about my instance only, it was a false claim,” Hegseth mentioned sternly.
The Virginia Democrat later requested Hegseth if he had nondisclosure agreements in connection together with his first two divorces and whether or not he would conform to launch his former wives from these agreements to talk brazenly about their marriages to him. Hegseth mentioned he wasn’t conscious of such agreements, however Kaine prompt he had one thing to cover.
“Did you ever engage in any acts of physical violence against any of your wives?” Kaine mentioned.
“Senator, absolutely not,” Hegseth replied.
“But you would agree with me that if someone had committed physical violence against a spouse, that would be disqualifying to serve as secretary of defense, correct?” Kaine mentioned.
“Senator, absolutely not have I ever done that,” Hegseth mentioned, calling the query a “hypothetical.”
Kaine went on to convey up allegations about Hegseth exhibiting up drunk at work when he labored at a nonprofit veteran group and at Fox Information. (Trump’s transition workforce has beforehand known as these allegations “completely unfounded and false.”)
“You would agree with me, right, that if that was the case, that would be disqualifying for somebody to be secretary of defense?” Kaine requested.
“Senator, those are all anonymous, false claims,” Hegseth mentioned earlier than Kaine interjected.
“They’re not anonymous,” Kaine mentioned. “One of your colleagues said that you got drunk at an event at a bar and chanted, ‘Kill all Muslims.’ Not anonymous, we have this.”
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“Isn’t that the kind of behavior that, if true, would be disqualifying for somebody to be secretary of defense?” the senator added.
“Senator, anonymous, false charges,” Hegseth mentioned flatly.
“They’re not anonymous,” Kaine replied earlier than wrapping up his remarks.
