Pete Hegseth demands district attorney hand over prosecutor’s memo in rape case – cites clue about more exculpatory details

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth is requesting records from the Monterey County, Calif., district attorney’s office that his legal team believes may contain additional exculpatory information related to a 2017 sexual assault charge against him, he can reveal “The Post”.

The recording request comes as some Democrats continue to cast doubt on the former Fox News personality’s innocence despite the publication police records with details that contradict his accuser’s account.

The memorandum underlying the decision not to prosecute Hegseth is believed to describe a previous allegation of sexual misconduct made by the same woman in another jurisdiction, said Hegseth’s lawyer Tim Parlatore.

“As part of our investigation, we received credible information indicating that she may have made similar false allegations against another man in the past, and the prosecutor was able to base his findings on this, in addition to other witnesses who contradicted her statements. ”Parlatore told The Post.

The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office, led by elected District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni, declined to provide records Friday in response to Parlatore’s request, it said in his answer that ”

“Your request for memorandums contains the opinions, conclusions, impressions, legal research and/or legal theories of the attorney(s) handling the case. They constitute primary work product and are not subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act,” reads the response signed by Pacioni and her top assistant, Berkley Brannon.

Parlatore is appealing the denial.

It is possible that Republican senators, who will take over the upper house again in January, will ask the court to issue the document, but this step could slow down its approval.

Democrats suggested that the Pentagon’s top candidate may not have been exonerated – with some pointing out that Hegseth reached a financial settlement with the woman not to reveal what he believed would be false allegations.

“Remember that we have just been in over a decade of combat… and we have reviewed the military and how we treat military sexual trauma,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (R-Ill.) said in a speech Interview with CBS News Sunday.

“Frankly, it is an insult and truly disturbing that Mr. Trump would nominate someone who admitted he paid off the victim who brought rape allegations against him.”

Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) said Sunday on MSNBC that “as a former federal prosecutor, I can tell you there is a difference between not prosecuting someone and completely exonerating someone – and that person has by no means been fully exonerated.”

Last week, the police report on the case was released, revealing that evidence undermined details of Hegseth’s unidentified accuser’s story, leading to the decision not to charge Hegseth with a crime.

Hotel surveillance footage and witness statements revealed that the woman did not appear to be drunk immediately before she and Hegseth had consensual sex – even though she told authorities that “things got a little messy” when she was drinking with him at the hotel bar and didn’t remember , whether she went to his room.

The woman stated that she remembered Hegseth following her out of the bar and then arguing with him at the hotel pool over his allegedly inappropriate behavior towards other women.

But footage from hotel security cameras showed investigators that Hegseth’s accuser “wasn’t swaying” as she left the bar around 1:15 a.m. on a given Sunday, was “smiling” and “linked arms” with Hegseth. .

A hotel employee and other witnesses said she did not appear to be drunk.

A hotel employee said other guests complained of “disturbances” near the pool after Hegseth and the woman left the bar.

“Hegseth told (the employee) he had freedom of speech. “Jane Doe intervened, told (the employee) they were Republicans and apologized for Hegseth’s actions,” according to the police report.

“(The employee) stated that Jane Doe placed her hands and arm on Hegseth’s back and escorted him towards Buildings 4 and 5… (The employee) stated that Hegseth was very intoxicated (and) Jane Doe was not intoxicated, she stood on her own own and was very consistent.”

The Monterey District Attorney’s Office did not respond to The Post’s request for comment on the appeal filed by Hegseth’s legal team.