GOP senators shrug off rape allegation against Trump pick

Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma said on Sunday that he doesn't believe the woman who accused Trump's secretary of defense nominee of sexual assault.

Fox News host Pete Hegseth, whom Trump tapped to head the DOD, was accused of rape in 2017 by a woman who attended a Republican women event in California. Her accusations are detailed in a 22-page police report, which Trump’s team allegedly did not know about before Trump tapped Hegseth for a Cabinet role. 

“He wasn’t charged. He wasn’t even kind of charged in this. There was no crime committed. The police dropped everything there," Mullin told CNN's Dana Bash of the rape allegation against Pete Hegseth. 

“What’s unfortunate, in today’s world, you can be accused of anything, and then, especially if it’s something like this, you’re automatically assumed to be guilty,” Mullin added.

While it’s true Hegseth wasn't charged after the police report was filed, that doesn’t necessarily clear him of wrongdoing.

Prosecutors may not have believed there was enough evidence to prove the allegation beyond a reasonable doubt—something that happens often in rape cases as they are often based on competing accounts from the accuser and the accused.

“Out of every 1000 instances of rape, only 13 cases get referred to a prosecutor, and only 7 cases will lead to a felony conviction,” according to the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network.

What’s more, Hegseth paid the accuser off to keep quiet about her allegations, which Hegseth reportedly feared could have cost him his Fox News gig.