Hegseth's accuser 'free to speak if she wants' — but may face defamation suit: attorney

The attorney for one of President-elect Donald Trump's embattled Cabinet nominees surprised a CNN anchor on Thursday night by sharing that a woman who accused Pete Hegseth of sexual assault is "free to speak" to the media — as long as she avoids repeating falsehoods.

A woman reported to police that Hegsethseth, a weekend co-host at Fox News nominated to head the Pentagon, sexually assaulted her in a California hotel room in October 2017. She said he blocked her from leaving, snatched her phone and raped her despite her saying "no." Hegseth later paid the woman money as part of deal that included some sort of agreement that she not talk about the allegation.

While many Republicans have suggested the report is baseless because the woman hasn't publicly come forward, journalists have noted her agreement prevents her from doing as such.

But Hegseth's attorney Tim Parlatore joined CNN's "The Source" and said she's free to speak up. This was a confidential settlement agreement with confidentiality on both sides, as opposed to a nondisclosure agreement that is one-sided, he said.

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"That agreement has since been breached by her," Parlatore emphasized. "As a result I sent notice to her attorney that that agreement is no longer — has any force in effect. That's one of the reasons why I can talk about it here because prior to that, that agreement prevented Mr. Hegseth from talking about her conduct."

Parlatore added: "If she wants to go and talk about it, she can do it. I mean, certainly she would do it at her own peril of a further defamation lawsuit."

"Well, that's news," interjected anchor Kaitlan Collins. "People have been calling for her to speak."

When she asked him to confirm that Hegseth's accuser can speak publicly about the encounter, Parlatore confirmed.

"Of course, however, if she doesn't tell the truth, if she repeats these false statements, then she will be subject to a defamation lawsuit. And she's well aware of that."

Earlier in the segment Parlatore repeated to Collins that they believe the accuser extorted Hegseth, but noted they didn't believe it rose to a criminal level of extortion worthy of being reported to police at the time.

Even so, he believes it does meet the state definition for civil extortion. And she could face a lawsuit if her accusation ultimately derails Hegseth's nomination.

"Quite frankly with the violation of the agreement, if he is not confirmed as the secretary of defense, we may still bring a civil extortion claim against her," said Parlatore, adding that the accuser's friend and attorney could also face a lawsuit.

Watch the clip below or at this link.