Graham Says Hegseth Plans to Release Accuser From Confidential Agreement

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick to lead the Defense Department, told Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina that he planned to release the woman who accused him of sexual assault from a confidential settlement agreement, Mr. Graham said on Sunday.

Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mr. Graham, a Republican, said that Mr. Hegseth told him during a private meeting last week of his intentions, which could allow his accuser to come forward publicly with her allegations.

Mr. Hegseth paid the woman after she accused him of having sexually assaulted her in 2017, in an encounter that he has insisted was consensual. A police report was filed four days later, in which the woman said Mr. Hegseth had taken her phone and prevented her from leaving his hotel room before assaulting her, but no charges were brought against him.

“He told me he would release her from that agreement,” Mr. Graham said of Mr. Hegseth. He added, “I would want to know if anybody nominated for a high-level job in Washington legitimately assaulted somebody.”

But, Mr. Graham said, Mr. Hegseth’s accuser would have to make her claims publicly if she wanted them to be considered.

“If people have an allegation to make, come forward and make it,” he said. “We’ll decide whether or not it’s credible. Right now he’s being tried by anonymous sources. That will not stand.”

Earlier this month, Timothy Parlatore, a lawyer for Mr. Hegseth, told CNN that he believed the woman had already breached the agreement, and said she should be prepared to be sued for defamation if she were to repeat what he called “false statements.”

Mr. Parlatore has said his client agreed to the settlement years later only because he feared that a public accusation could lead to his termination from Fox News, likening the settlement agreement to extortion.