WASHINGTON — Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, paid off a woman who accused him of sexual assault to stave off the threat of a baseless lawsuit, according to Hegseth’s lawyer .

Hegseth was accused of sexual assault in 2017 after giving a speech at a Republican women’s event in Monterey, California, according to a statement released by the city. No charges have been filed.

Her lawyer, Tim Parlatore, told The Associated Press on Sunday that the sex was consensual and that the woman who made the accusation days later was “the aggressor.” This assertion was not confirmed in the press release released by the city.

Parlatore said a payment was made to the woman in a confidential settlement a few years after the police investigation because Hegseth believed filing a threatened lawsuit could have gotten him fired from Fox News, where he was then a popular entertainer. Parlatore would not reveal the amount of the payment.

“He was falsely accused and my position is that he was blackmailed,” Parlatore said, calling it “successful extortion.”

The Washington Post previously reported details of the payment. The newspaper also reported obtaining a copy of a memo sent to Trump’s transition team last week from a woman who said she was a friend of the accuser and which detailed the sexual assault allegations.

Trump’s transition team had no immediate comment Sunday on the memo.

The person who reported the attack, whose name, age and gender have not been released, had bruises on his right thigh, according to the city’s statement. No weapons were involved in the encounter, the person told police.

The incident occurred between 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 7 and 7 a.m. the next morning, according to the city’s statement.

Hegseth was in Monterey at the time to address the California Federation of Republican Women at a banquet during the group’s biennial convention, according to social media posts and promotional materials from the time.

Monterey officials said they were refusing to release other details included in the police report because they included analyzes and findings by law enforcement officers who are exempt from disclosure under the state’s public records law.

At the time of the 2017 charges, Hegseth, now 44, was divorcing his second wife, with whom he has three children. She filed for divorce after having a child with a Fox News producer who is now his wife, according to court records and Hegseth’s social media posts. His first marriage ended in 2009, also after Hegseth’s infidelity, according to court records.

After the accusations surfaced last week, Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump transition, issued a statement saying the president-elect is “nominating high-caliber and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his administration.”

“Mr. Hegseth has vigorously denied all accusations, and no charges have been filed. We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense so that he can begin on day one to make the “America safe and great again,” Cheung said.