Markwayne Mullin ‘completely’ believes Hegseth in sexual assault accuser case

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said Sunday that he “completely” believes defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth about his sexual assault accuser.

Mullin joined CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” to discuss The election of President-elect Trump and the allegations against his nomination.

They argued a bit, then Mullin enthusiastically endorsed Hegseth and said he had talked to the candidate about recently published police report details a sexual encounter he had in 2017 with a woman accused of assault.

Mullin began talking about the police report, arguing on Hegseth’s behalf that the woman had in fact led the couple back to Hegseth’s hotel room that evening.

Bash interjected, noting that Mullin “sort of” answered her question about whether he believed Hegseth’s story more than the accuser.

“Absolutely yes,” Mullin said. “No charges were brought against him. He wasn’t even charged. In this case, no crime occurred. The police threw everything there.”

“What’s unfortunate is that in today’s world, you can be accused of anything and then… especially when it comes to something like this, you’re automatically found guilty,” Mullin continued.

He noted that he had read the police report “from cover to cover” and concluded that no crime had occurred.

“The American people gave President Trump a mandate. Mandate because they want to change the way government works,” Mullin said. “The government worked for the party, not the people, and President Trump puts people in there to make change.”

A police report released last week details a sexual encounter between Hegseth and a woman in California, where she says he took her phone, forced himself on her and used his body to block the door so she couldn’t leave.

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