1 / 7Several of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet and staff picks face allegations of sexual misconduct. Trump himself has been accused of mistreating women, was caught bragging about inappropriate behavior, and was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation. Both Trump and his nominees deny the allegations, calling them politically motivated. Take a look at Trump’s picks who have been accused of sexual misconduct: (Image: Reuters)
2 / 7Donald Trump | Last year, a New York jury found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming advice columnist E. Jean Carroll over a 1996 incident. While jurors rejected her rape claim, they upheld a lesser charge of sexual abuse. Carroll, one of over a dozen women accusing Trump of sexual misconduct, detailed her allegations in a 2019 memoir, claiming Trump assaulted her in a department store dressing room. Trump, who did not attend the trial, denied the accusations, calling Carroll’s story false and an attempt to sell her book, a defense he has used against similar claims by other women. (Image: Reuters)
3 / 7Pete Hegseth | A newly released police report details a 2017 allegation of sexual assault against Pete Hegseth, accusing him of blocking a hotel room door, taking a woman’s phone, and refusing to let her leave. Hegseth denied wrongdoing, claiming the encounter was consensual, and no charges were filed. The accusation arose after Hegseth spoke at a Republican women’s event in Monterey. His lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, said the police found the claims false and revealed a confidential settlement was later paid to avoid potential litigation, which Hegseth feared could jeopardise his role at Fox News. The settlement amount remains undisclosed. (Image: AP)
4 / 7Robert F Kennedy Jr. | A former babysitter for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his second wife alleged he groped her in the late 1990s when she was 23, as reported by Vanity Fair. Kennedy did not deny the claim, acknowledging a “rambunctious youth” and texting her an apology after the story surfaced. The woman, in a recent interview with USA Today, detailed incidents at Kennedy’s Mount Kisco, New York, home. She described feeling him rub her leg under a table, being asked to apply lotion to his shirtless torso, and being groped in a kitchen pantry, where he blocked her exit. She left the job a few months later. (Image: Reuters)
5 / 7Linda McMahon | A recent lawsuit accuses WWE founders Linda and Vince McMahon of enabling child sexual exploitation by former employee Melvin Phillips as early as the 1980s. Filed under Maryland’s new law lifting the statute of limitations for child sex abuse claims, the suit alleges Phillips targeted disadvantaged young men, hired them as “ring boys,” and assaulted them in various locations, including locker rooms and hotels. Phillips, who worked for WWE from the 1970s to early 1990s, died in 2012 and is not a defendant. The lawsuit, brought by five men, claims the McMahons were aware of Phillips’ actions but failed to intervene. Linda McMahon’s lawyer, Laura Brevetti, called the allegations false and noted past investigations by WWE attorneys and the FBI found no grounds to proceed. Brevetti also confirmed Linda and Vince McMahon are separated. (Image: Reuters)
6 / 7Elon Musk | In 2016, a SpaceX flight attendant accused CEO Elon Musk of sexual misconduct during a private jet flight. Musk denied the claim, but a Business Insider report revealed SpaceX paid the woman $250,000 in severance in 2018, with an NDA prohibiting her from discussing the matter. The report, based on the account of a friend of the attendant, alleged the incident was shared shortly after it occurred. Musk dismissed the allegations as “utterly untrue” on Twitter, suggesting the claims were politically motivated, coinciding with his plans to buy the platform and his shift toward voting Republican. SpaceX did not comment on the matter. (Image: Reuters)
7 / 7Matt Gaetz | Gaetz, who has now withdrawn from the nomination process for attorney general, denied wrongdoing and stated that the Justice Department closed its sex trafficking investigation without filing charges. The probe examined a Bahamas trip Gaetz took with women and a campaign donor, investigating whether the women were paid or received gifts for sex. House investigators later heard from two women who claimed Gaetz paid them for sex, with one testifying she saw him with a 17-year-old. The House Ethics Committee, which began its review in 2021, paused at the DOJ’s request but resumed after Gaetz announced the DOJ had dropped its investigation. (Image: Reuters)
