Pete Hegseth's Lawyer Threatens Extortion Lawsuit Against Accuser

Pete Hegseth's lawyer threatened an extortion lawsuit against his client's sexual assault accuser if Hegseth is not confirmed as secretary of Defense.

Tim Parlatore told CNN that the woman who has accused Hegseth of sexual assault may not be guilty of criminal extortion but could be brought to court for civil extortion if he were to file a lawsuit.

"It was something we were considering at the time," he said, referring to when the accuser was planning to file a lawsuit in 2020 before a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) was signed. "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."

Hegseth is accused of sexual assault against a woman in 2017, when he was the keynote speaker at a Republican conference at a hotel in the Californian city of Monterey.

According to police files from the time, the woman said she met Hegseth at an after-party event but does not remember much of the night, except waking up in a hotel room with Hegseth, who took her phone and blocked her from leaving. She believes she was raped and possibly drugged, but charges were never filed in the case.

Hegseth has denied the allegations and said it was a consensual affair with a woman who later regretted cheating on her husband. Through his lawyer, he said he signed an NDA because it was at the height of the #MeToo movement.

The allegations surfaced last month after President-elect Trump chose Hegseth to lead the Pentagon.

Parlatore told CNN that the woman's false claim was "put out in violation of a settlement agreement."

If that "causes him to lose his future employment opportunities, then yes, that is something that is worth bringing a lawsuit against," the attorney said.

Parlatore said the NDA is no longer valid because it has "been breached" by the accuser.

Hegseth has been fending off a slate of allegations, including excessive drinking at his former jobs, including Fox News and two veterans groups. He has also been accused in media reports of financial mismanagement and improper sexual behavior at those veterans groups, while his mother, Penelope Hegseth, sent an email to her son in 2018 saying he mistreated women. She has since appeared on Fox News to defend her son.

Hegseth has vowed to remain in the fight for Defense secretary, and Trump has voiced support for his pick to lead the Pentagon. Hegseth spent most of the week shoring up support on Capitol Hill as he seeks to sway GOP senators to get confirmed for the job.