'At her own peril': Hegseth attorney threatens sexual assault accuser with 'defamation lawsuit'

Despite reports that President-elect Donald Trump is considering nominating Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for defense secretary and withdrawing his nomination of former Fox News host Pete Hegseth for that position, the embattled Hegseth has vowed to keep fighting.

Hegseth has been facing a variety of bad publicity, from a sexual assault allegation to allegations of extreme alcohol abuse. But the former "Fox and Friends" host has denied the sexual assault allegation, and he was never charged with anything.

On Thursday night, December 5, CNN's Kaitlin Collins discussed that case with Hegseth's attorney, Tim Parlatore — who threatened his client with a possible "defamation lawsuit."

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Collins noted that when he previously discussed the case with her colleague Jake Tapper, he said he believed "it was extortion."

"If you felt that it was extortion," Collins told the attorney, "why not go to the police at the time?"

Parlatore responded, "Well, it was a decision that we made…. It was something that, I don't know if it rises to the level of a criminal extortion that the police would take it on. But I think it certain does meet the definition under the California law for civil extortion. And it was something we were considering at the time."

Parlatore went on to say that if Hegseth is not confirmed for secretary of defense, "We may still bring a civil extortion claim against her" for violating a nondisclosure agreement.

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Hegseth's attorney added that if his client loses "future employment opportunities," it would be "worth bringing a lawsuit against her."

Collins noted that "some people" believe Hegseth's accuser should be "released from that nondisclosure agreement."

Hegseth responded, "This is a confidential settlement agreement that had confidentiality on both sides. That agreement has since been breached by her. And so, as a result, I sent notice to her attorney that that agreement no longer has any force in effort. That's one of the reasons I can talk about it here, because prior to that, the agreement prevented Mr. Hegseth from talking about her conduct."

The attorney continued, "So, there is no NDA to release her from. And if she wants to go and talk about it, she can do it. Certainly, she would do it at her own peril of a further defamation lawsuit…. 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."

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Watch the full video below or at this link.