A Fox News contributor who made a personal confession that influenced her opinion of Donald Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense.
Leslie Marshall, a Democrat strategist and radio host, talked about her experiences as a rape victim while speaking out against Hegseth’s nomination.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, was accused of sexual assault in 2017. He has denied the accusation, although his lawyer has admitted to paying the accuser to prevent her from going public.
Appearing on the network on Sunday, Marshall said she had to oppose Hegseth despite liking him “as a person.”
‘I was afraid to talk about this today. I met Piet a long time ago. “We waited in the middle of the night to move forward in 2016, before the election, and I like him as a person,” she said.
Marshall added, “I’m a rape victim, and I can tell you there’s a reason why one in 10 rapes goes unreported, and it’s very difficult for a woman to go in and get a rape kit.” have it made. It’s very difficult physically, mentally and emotionally to go through that process, just like me.”
She said she believes Hegseth’s alleged victim and that, combined with accusations of infidelity against the thrice-married Hegseth, made him ineligible as the military code considers adultery “against the military.”
DailyMail.com exclusively revealed on Sunday that Hegseth had also had a baby with his Fox News producer just weeks before the alleged attack.
Fox News contributor Leslie Marshall spoke out against Donald Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense and made a personal confession that influenced her opinion
“While Pete has an incredible military career, he does not have the leadership career in the military that I believe the Department of Defense needs as its head,” Marshall said.
A police report released this week by the city of Monterey, California, shows that a then 30-year-old woman was drinking champagne with coworkers during a business trip when things “got hazy” and she suddenly found herself in a room with Hegseth.
Timothy Parlatore, a lawyer representing Hegseth, has admitted that his client paid the woman for her silence because he did not want to lose his job, while dismissing the allegations as “unfounded” and amounting to a “successful extortion ‘.
A complaint from an unnamed woman with extensive knowledge of the alleged rape was sent to Trump’s staff, explaining the story police were told at the time.
The other woman’s memo claimed she “didn’t remember anything until she was in Hegseth’s hotel room and then stumbled to find her hotel room.”
The six to nine hours following his intervention in Hegseth’s flirting with the other women were “very blurry,” the memo said.
When she got home, she “had a moment of vague memory of the rape the night before and had a panic attack,” the memo said.
That’s when she went to the ER and had a rape kit taken that came back positive for semen.
Marshall is a Democrat strategist and radio host who is speaking out about her experiences as a rape victim in opposition to Hegseth’s nominee, after it was revealed that the ex-Fox News host was accused of sexual assault in 2017
Marshall said she believes the alleged victim and that, combined with accusations of infidelity against the thrice-married Hegseth, made him ineligible as military code considers adultery “against the military.”
Local police investigated the alleged assault involving Hegseth, which was reported four days later, the city said.
According to the statement, no weapons were involved, but there were injuries: “bruises to the right thigh.”
Hegseth, who was separated from his second wife at the time of the alleged rape, has not been charged in any criminal case and has not been named as a suspect in any civil lawsuit.
There have been other complaints from liberals in the past about some of Hegseth’s comments on Fox News.
He faced fierce criticism for controversial views that women should not serve in combat.
Close Trump ally Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) defended Hegseth on Sunday.
‘Don’t let these accusations distract us. What we need is real significant change. The Pentagon has focused more on pronouns than on their lethality over the past four years. We need to get back to work, and I think Pete is the right person to do that,” Hagerty said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) argued that the reason for the confirmation process is to get the full story. He said it would allow senators to ask questions and give Hegseth the opportunity to respond.
He claimed Hegseth was never charged, and even before the hearings he said he already planned to support confirmation.
A CBS News poll found that a clear majority of 64 percent of Republicans said Hegseth was a good choice, even though he had a lower approval rating than many of the other nominees.