Public Police Report Details Hegseth Assault Allegation

A police report includes conflicting accounts of a 2017 sexual encounter between an unnamed woman and President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Defense Secretary, former Fox News (Right bias) host and Congressman Pete Hegseth.

The Details: The Monterey Police Department on Thursday published a 24-page report in response to a public records request. The woman came to police four days after the alleged assault, telling them she met Hegseth at a Republican women's conference. She said her recollection was hazy but remembers Hegseth at one point preventing her from leaving the hotel room. Hegseth said the encounter was consensual and the woman, who was staying at the hotel with her partner, "showed early signs of regret" in the morning. An investigator noted in the report that security footage showed Hegseth and the woman walking out of the hotel bar with "locked arms," and neither had an "unsteady gait." Charges were not filed against Hegseth.

How the Media Covered It: The new details from the police report were widely covered by outlets on the left, center, and leaning right. As of Thursday evening, AllSides did not find coverage of the report details from outlets with a Right bias, though some like Breitbart (Right bias) had written about Republican Senators expressing confidence in Hegseth earlier in the day. MSNBC (Left) called the details "graphic" and noted the report "does not specify why charges were not filed." New York Post (Lean Right) centered its story around Hegseth's response to the report being made public, while Wall Street Journal (Center) centered around members of Trump's transition team, reporting they were "blindsided" and frustrated by the news.