Trump's Pentagon nominee, Pete Hegseth, has been accused of sexual assault.

Question

Trump's Pentagon nominee, Pete Hegseth, has been accused of sexual assault.

commented Jan 24 by roan_beaupre (100 points)

Using the 8 steps of fact checking
1:yes the claim traces back to the police report. I read the report and all the stated information checked out. You can find the report here https://www.mediaite.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/11-20-24-Mediaite.pdf
2: Although I don't fully trust or know much about Mediaite, CNN made their own report on the matter that matched up to the report made by them so I trust it.
3:Aiden Mclaughlin has other reports and papers he's done through the website so he checks out as an editor in chief. I also looked into his twitter just to make sure the photos matched him and they do(@aidnmclaughlin) I also looked into Diana Falzone and she checked out as well. They worked on this piece together. https://www.mediaite.com/author/aidan-mclaughlin/
4: The article was posted Nov 20th, 2024, 11:31 pm so it is fairly new news.
5:yes outlets like cnn and fox news have also reported on this same news.
6:The photos match who they are talking about and the police report was also a match.
7:everything checks out on factchecker.org
8:the headline clearly states whats talked about in the article

11 Answers

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tkbur · Answer 1 · 2025-02-06T02:26:33+0000

The claim, that Hegseth has been accused, is true. A police report from 2017 detailing the alleged assault was obtained by reporting agencies following Hegseth's appointment, which is the main source for their reporting. The identity of the accuser is kept anonymous, with the report only referring to her as Jane Doe, and the report contains descriptions of the events of that night from both her and several other witnesses. Hegseth is mentioned to have settled with his accuser to protect his career, but as his team has stated repeatedly, Hegseth was never charged and continues to deny the validity of the claims. (The Mediaite article linked below contains links to the pdf version of the report, and the other two sources contain largely the same details aside from their analysis of how it may potentially impact Hegseth's political career.)

https://www.mediaite.com/politics/new-full-police-report-details-pete-hegseth-sexual-assault-allegation/

https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/21/politics/pete-hegseth-police-report-defense-secretary-trump/index.html

https://www.npr.org/2024/11/21/nx-s1-5199630/police-report-gives-details-timeline-of-the-sexual-assault-claim-against-pete-hegseth