‘I Believe Him’: Lindsey Graham Says He Buys Pete Hegseth’s Story On Alleged Sexual Assault, Dismisses Claims as ‘Disturbing, But Anonymous’
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told NBC’s Kristen Welker on Sunday that he believes Pete Hegseth is innocent of sexual assault and he would support his Pentagon confirmation until he heard a “credible” allegation.
On Meet the Press, Welker noted Hegseth had been accused of sexual misconduct in 2017 in California and that he was facing an uphill battle after President-elect Donald Trump nominated him to run the Defense Department.
“You said last week that some of the allegations against Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s pick to become defense secretary were, ‘very disturbing,'” Welker said.
She asked Graham, “At this point in time, are you prepared to vote yes on Pete Hegseth, and do you think he has enough support to get confirmed?” Graham replied:
I’m in a good place with Pete unless something I don’t know about comes out. These allegations are disturbing, but they’re anonymous. I asked him point-blank were you drunk in a bar and got up and said let’s kill all of the Muslims, he said no. There was one report about sexual assault. That person has the right to come forward to the committee but about mismanagement of money, about, you know, having a drinking problem and saying inappropriate things. All of these are anonymous allegations. He’s given me his side of the story. It makes sense to me, I believe him.
Unless somebody is willing to come forward, I think he is going to get through. Remember Kavanaugh? Five people accused Justice Kavanaugh of misconduct. Three were outright lies. The other two I think were not credible, so we’re not going to let that happen to Pete. You’re not going to destroy his nomination based on anonymous sources. People have to come forward to make credible allegations, and we’ll see if they do.
Welker noted the woman at the center of the California sexual misconduct allegation signed a non-disclosure agreement. She asked the South Carolina Republican if he would like to hear from the accuser.
“He told me he would release her from that agreement,” Graham replied. He concluded:
“Just think about what we’re talking about. I would want to know if anybody nominated for a high-level job in Washington legitimately assaulted somebody. I’ve known Pete for years. I met him in Afghanistan. I’ve heard nothing but good things about his service over there. He’s a friend. The Pete Hegseth I know, this is not a problem I’ve been aware of. However, if people have an allegation to make, come forward and make it like they did in Kavanaugh. We’ll decide whether or not it’s credible. Right now, he’s being tried by anonymous sources. That will not stand.
Watch above via NBC News.
