Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) signalled on Sunday that he is willing to support Pete Hegseth’s nomination as defense secretary despite serious allegations of sexual assault and alcohol abuse.
Hegseth has been accused of sexual assault, mismanaging two veterans organizations, abusing alcohol, infidelity and called a serial “abuser of women” by his own mother.
“These allegations are disturbing, but they’re anonymous,” Graham told “Meet the Press” host Kirsten Welker. “I asked him point blank, ‘Were you drunk in a bar and got up and said, ‘Let’s kill all the Muslims?’ He said no.”
“There’s one allegation of a police report about sexual assault, that person has the right to come forward to the committee. But about mismanagement of money, about having a drinking problem and saying inappropriate things — all of these are anonymous allegations.”
An unidentified woman told authorities she was assaulted by Hegseth in 2017. In a statement obtained by the Washington Post, Hegseth’s attorney said that Hegseth paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault as part of a nondisclosure agreement.
On Sunday Graham said Hegseth told him that he is willing to release the woman from the nondisclosure agreement.
“He told me he would release her from that agreement,” Graham told Welker. “Just think about what we’re talking about — I’d want to know if anybody nominated for a high-level job in Washington legitimately assaulted somebody.”
Barring any new developments, Graham said he will vote to confirm Hegseth as the next defense secretary.
“I’m in a good place with Pete, unless something I don’t know about comes out,” he said. “These allegations are disturbing, but they’re anonymous.”
“He’s given me his side of the story. It makes sense to me. I believe him,” he added. “Unless somebody is willing to come forward, I think he’s going to get through.”
