FBI did not interview woman who accused Pete Hegseth of sexual assault in 2017: Sources
(WASHINGTON) — The FBI’s probe into defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth did not include an interview with a woman who accused the former Fox News anchor of sexual assault in 2017, sources familiar with the situation told ABC News.
The top senators on the Armed Services Committee were briefed on the FBI’s background investigation last week but sources said investigators did not speak to the accuser.
A police report previously obtained by ABC News, stated that a woman — who is identified only as Jane Doe — told investigators in October 2017 that she had encountered Hegseth at an event afterparty at a California hotel where both had been drinking and claimed that he sexually assaulted her.
No charges were filed, although Hegseth subsequently paid the woman as part of a settlement agreement, which Hegseth’s attorney, Tim Parlatore, said was only because Hegseth feared his career would suffer if her allegations were made public.
The agreement stated that Hegseth made no admission of wrongdoing in the matter. Parlatore said Hegseth was the victim of “blackmail” and “false claims of sexual assault” by an unidentified woman after a Republican women’s convention in California on Oct. 7, 2017.
The circumstances around the FBI’s lack of an interview with the woman are unclear.
Hegseth has said the encounter was consensual and that he denied any wrongdoing and welcomed the FBI’s work. He wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal in December, saying that “the press is peddling anonymous story after anonymous story, all meant to smear me and tear me down.”
“It’s a textbook manufactured media takedown. They provide no evidence, no names, and they ignore the legions of people who speak on my behalf. They need to create a bogeyman, because they believe I threaten their institutional insanity,” he wrote in the op-ed at the time.
As ABC News previously reported, the FBI questioned several individuals in Hegseth’s past about his alleged extramarital affairs, his character and his relationship with alcohol.
Some witnesses contacted by the FBI did not respond, according to multiple sources familiar with background outreach and other sources briefed on the process.
The Armed Services Committee is expected to hold Hegseth’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday, ahead of President-elect Trump’s inauguration.
(WASHINGTON) — Monday marks the fourth anniversary of the violent events of Jan. 6, 2021 — a day President-elect Donald Trump has continually tried to recast as a “day of love.”
Trump is vowing to pardon Jan. 6 rioters on the first day of his administration, saying while it will done be on a case-by-case basis, he believes a majority of them should not be in jail and have “suffered greatly.”
At an event at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend, according to an audio recording obtained by ABC News, he continued to claim that the the electoral votes from the 2020 election “could have been sent back” and criticized then-Vice President Mike Pence for adhering to his constitutional duty to uphold the certification process and not unilaterally reject the election results.
President Joe Biden, on the other hand, penned an op-ed on Sunday in which he pushed back on attempts to “rewrite — even erase — the history of that day.”
“Violent insurrectionists attacked the Capitol, threatened the lives of elected officials and assaulted brave law enforcement officers,” he wrote in the Washington Post. “We should be proud that our democracy withstood this assault. And we should be glad we will not see such a shameful attack again this year.”
And in remarks to congressional Democrats, Biden said it was now their “duty to tell the truth.”
“You remember what happened, and don’t let Jan. 6 be rewritten or even erased,” he told them. “To honor the Constitution, not only the most extraordinary of days, but it’s one of the toughest days in American history: Jan. 6.”
On the campaign trail, Trump often aired grievances and false claims about the 2020 election and tried to downplay what transpired on Jan. 6, 2021.
One notable exchange came during a Univision town hall weeks before Election Day, when a Republican audience member pressed Trump on his actions that day as thousands of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, temporarily disrupting the certification of Biden’s win.
Trump falsely claimed no one in the crowd was carrying firearms.
“That was a day of love,” Trump said. “From the standpoint of the millions, it’s like hundreds of thousands. It could have been the largest group I’ve ever spoken to before. They asked me to speak. I went and I spoke, and I used the term ‘peacefully and patriotically.'”
Nearly 1,600 individuals have faced charges associated with the Capitol attack, according to new figures released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
That includes 608 individuals who have faced charges for assaulting, resisting or interfering with law enforcement trying to protect the complex that day, the office said. Approximately 140 law enforcement officers were injured during the riot, the DOJ has said.
In a brief video message on Monday, Harris reflected on the importance of the peaceful transfer of power, saying the country’s witnessed how “our democracy can be fragile” and “it is up to then each one of us to stand up for our most cherished principles.”
Trump on social media called the upcoming certification a “A BIG MOMENT IN HISTORY. MAGA!”
ABC News’ Soorin Kim, Lalee Ibssa, Kelsey Walsh and Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.
President-elect Donald Trump is on the cusp of returning to the White House, with his inauguration ceremony on Monday.
During his third campaign for the presidency, he laid out what he would do on his first day back in office, even referring to himself as a “dictator” but only on “Day 1.”
“We’re closing the border and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling,” he said during a 2023 town hall in Iowa with Fox News host Sean Hannity. “After that, I’m not a dictator.”
One task on his apparent to-do list has already become irrelevant. Trump vowed to fire Jack Smith, the special counsel who brought two federal cases against him, “within two seconds” of returning to the White House. Though Smith resigned as special counsel on Jan. 10 after submitting his final report on the probes into allegations of interfering with the 2020 election and unlawfully retaining classified documents after leaving the White House.
Here’s what else Trump has said he would do on Day 1:
Mass deportations and closing the border
With immigration a top issue for voters, Trump has said he’s determined to round up and deport millions of migrants living in the U.S. without legal permission.
“On Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out,” he said during a rally at Madison Square Garden in the closing days of the presidential race. “I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail, then kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible.”
Incoming “border czar” Tom Homan has promised to execute “the biggest deportation operation this country has ever seen.”
To do so, Trump has indicated he will seek help from the U.S. military by declaring a national emergency.
Trump has also vowed to close the southern border on his first day in office.
“We’re going to close the border. Day 1, the border gets closed,” he said during the 2023 town hall with Hannity.
Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff of policy, told Fox News following the election that the president-elect would immediately sign executive orders regarding mass deportations and a border closure.
“It is going to be at light speed,” Miller said. “The moment that President Trump puts his hand on that Bible and takes the oath of office, as he has said, the occupation ends, liberation day begins. He will immediately sign executive orders sealing the border shut, beginning the largest deportation operation in American history.”
Trump has railed against the Biden administration’s immigration policies, in part claiming they have made America less safe, though statistics show that U.S.-born citizens are more than twice as likely to be arrested for violent crimes than undocumented immigrants, according to a 2020 Justice Department study cited in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
There are an estimated 11 million unauthorized migrants living in the U.S. without legal immigration status. Removing them could cost billions of dollars per year, according to estimates from the American Immigration Council.
End birthright citizenship
Among other immigration policies, Trump has pledged to sign an executive order on the first day of his new term to end birthright citizenship.
In a 2023 campaign video, Trump said that under the new executive order, at least one parent will have to be a “citizen or a legal resident” for their children to qualify for birthright citizenship.
Such a move, though, is expected to face significant legal hurdles. Under the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, any person born within the territory of the U.S. is a U.S. citizen.
Free some convicted Jan. 6 rioters
Trump has said one of his first acts if elected to a second term would be to “free” some people convicted for their roles in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, whom he continues to claim are “wrongfully imprisoned.”
“I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can’t say for every single one, because a couple of them, probably they got out of control,” he said on his social media platform last March when announcing the promise.
Trump has repeatedly downplayed the violence that ensued that day, referring to the defendants as “J6 hostages,” calling for their release.
As of early January, more than 1,580 individuals have been charged criminally in federal court in connection with Jan. 6, with over 1,000 pleading guilty, according to the Department of Justice.
Tariffs on Canada and Mexico
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform following the election that one of the first executive orders he will sign when he takes office will be to charge Mexico and Canada with a 25% tariff on all products coming into the United States.
“This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” he posted. “Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem. We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!”
In response, Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, warned that any tariff will be met with another and disputed his claims about migration and drugs while blaming the U.S. for Mexico’s drug war — pointing to U.S. consumption and American guns.
Canadian officials said the country “places the highest priority on border security and the integrity of our shared border.”
End the Russia-Ukraine war ‘within 24 hours’
Trump claimed during a 2023 CNN town hall that if he were president, he could end the war between Russia and Ukraine in 24 hours. Though he did not detail what he wanted an end to look like, dodging on whether he wanted Ukraine or Russia to win.
Asked during an ABC News debate in September if he wants Ukraine to win against Russia, Trump did not directly answer but said that he wants the war to stop.
“I’ll get the war with Ukraine and Russia ended. If I’m president-elect, I’ll get it done before even becoming president,” he said.
Though more recently, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s pick to serve as the special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, said on Fox News this month that he’d personally like to see the war end within 100 days.
End ‘Green New Deal atrocities’
Trump said in a campaign video last year he would end the “Green New Deal atrocities on Day 1” if reelected.
The Green New Deal — a public policy initiative to address climate change pitched by Democrats Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey — was never signed into law, though Trump has used the term to generally refer to the Biden administration’s climate and energy policies, like the landmark Inflation Reduction Act.
“To further defeat inflation, my plan will terminate the Green New Deal, which I call the Green New Scam. Greatest scam in history, probably,” Trump said during remarks at the Economic Club of New York in September. “[We will] rescind all unspent funds under the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act.”
Trump also said during his Republican National Convention address that he will “end the electric vehicle mandate on Day 1.” There is no such federal mandate, though recent Environmental Protection Agency regulations are aimed to accelerate the adoption of cleaner vehicle technologies.
Green cards for college graduates
Trump deviated from his usual anti-immigrant rhetoric when he advocated for “automatically” giving noncitizens in the U.S. green cards when they graduate from college — not just people who go through the vetting process — during an episode of the “All In” podcast released in June.
“[What] I want to do, and what I will do, is you graduate from a college, I think you should get, automatically as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country. That includes junior colleges, too,” Trump said in the episode.
“Anybody graduates from a college, you go in there for two years or four years, if you graduate, or you get a doctorate degree from a college, you should be able to stay in this country,” he continued.
Asked on the podcast if he would expand H-1B work visas for tech workers after fixing the border, Trump said “yes.”
“Somebody graduates at the top of the class, they can’t even make a deal with the company because they don’t think they’re going to be able to stay in the country. That is going to end on Day 1,” Trump said.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the leaders of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, have also voiced their support for H-1B visas, which allow foreign skilled professionals to work in America, saying they are essential because American culture doesn’t prioritize success in science and engineering careers compared to other countries.
Some of Trump’s far-right supporters have pushed back against support for the visas, arguing they are a way for business leaders to have cheap labor rather than provide job opportunities for Americans.
Reinstate ban on transgender military service
Trump has vowed to reinstate a ban on transgender military service enacted during his first term in 2017, which President Joe Biden repealed in 2021, among other measures that would impact trans people.
“With the stroke of my pen, on day one, we’re going to stop the transgender lunacy,” Trump said at a Turning Point USA rally in December. “And I will sign executive orders to end child sexual mutilation, get transgender out of the military and out of our elementary schools and middle schools and high school. And we will keep men out of women’s sports.”
“And that will likewise be done on Day 1,” he continued.
Estimates on the number of active transgender service members vary. In 2021, the Department of Defense said there were approximately 2,200 people in the military services who were diagnosed with gender dysphoria and seeking medical care, while noting that was a subset of the transgender population.
If a ban on transgender service members were to be reinstated, the Human Rights Campaign said it “will take swift action to push back against this dangerous and discriminatory ban.”
(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary Pete Hegseth met on Wednesday with another moderate Republican whose vote will be closely watched in his confirmation battle.
Hegseth sat down with Maine Sen. Susan Collins as he continues to make the rounds to shore up support amid allegations of sexual impropriety and other misconduct, which he denies.
Afterward, he described it as a “great meeting.”
“Office after office, having the opportunity to spend time with these senators who have invested their careers in ensuring that our warfighters get what they need, has been amazing educational process,” Hegseth said. “And Senator Collins, like her colleagues before her reiterated that.
“It was a wonderful conversation focused on what needs to be done to make sure this Pentagon is focused on warfighting and lethality, and we look forward to stay in touch with her,” he added.
Hegseth added he was “certainly not going to assume anything about where the senator stands” as he was peppered with questions by reporters.
Collins called it a “good, substantive discussion” for more than an hour on everything from women’s role in the military and sexual assault in the military to Ukraine and NATO.
“I asked virtually every question under the sun,” Collins said. “I pressed him on both his position on military issues as well as the allegations against him.”
Collins did not voice support for Hegseth, instead saying she’d wait until further vetting of Hegseth before deciding how to vote.
“I, obviously, always wait until we have an FBI background check, and one is underway in the case of Mr. Hegseth, and I wait to see the committee hearing before reaching a final decision,” she said.
Their meeting came on the heels of his meeting on Tuesday with Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is viewed as another possible GOP swing vote. Murkowski said they had a “good exchange” but did not indicate whether she’d been swayed to support him.
Hegseth is one of many Trump administration picks who’ve been on Capitol Hill this week.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, tapped to lead the Department of Homeland Security, met with various Republican senators on Tuesday.
When departing a meeting with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Noem was asked if she’d support Trump’s plan for mass deportations of migrants living in the U.S. without legal permission. Deportations were a central promise of Trump’s 2024 campaign.
“I am going to enforce the president’s agenda,” Noem responded.
Noem also left the door open for a deal with Democrats to protect “Dreamers,” or migrants brought illegally to the U.S. as young children. Trump floated the idea during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” despite his attempts to undermine the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program during his first administration.
“You know, I appreciate the president’s word on this issue, and I know he wants our laws to be followed, so I’ll work with him to get his vision accomplished,” Noem said.
Noem was back for meetings on Wednesday, including one with Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. Noem said she hoped for bipartisan support in her confirmation bid.
Kash Patel, Trump’s pick for FBI director, and Tulsi Gabbard, his choice for director of national intelligence, have also been spotted walking the halls of the Hart Senate Office Building.
For Patel to fill the role, current FBI Director Christopher Wray would need to resign or be fired.
Several Republican senators expressed this week they’d be fine with Wray being forced out or stepping aside.
“I like Director Wray but I think it’s time for a fresh start at the FBI,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham.
“Obviously, Director Wray would be fired. That is obvious,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin.
