President-elect Donald Trumpthe choice to supervise the entire American army, former Fox News personality Pete Hegsethwas confronted Thursday by a journalist who bluntly asked him if he had raped a woman in 2017, as described in a police report.

“As far as the media is concerned, it’s very simple,” said Hegseth, who was at the Capitol to meet with senators charged with determining whether or not he should be approved as the next U.S. defense secretary.

“The case was thoroughly investigated and I was completely exonerated, and that’s where I’ll leave it,” he said.

The police report does not indicate that Hegseth was exonerated; he instead recommended that the case be referred to local prosecutors for review, the Associated Press reported.

Prosecutors may choose not to pursue a case for a variety of reasons, including limited availability of witnesses, whether a jury can find those witnesses credible, and whether alleged victims want to participate in the process.

The incident reportedly occurred at a Republican Women’s Conference at a hotel in Monterey, California, where Hegseth was invited to speak in October 2017.

A woman, whose name has not been made public, sought a sexual assault examination at a medical facility days after she said she woke up with a vague memory of being assaulted by the Fox host.

She allegedly confronted him earlier, in a social setting, because she felt he was behaving inappropriately around other women. The woman texted a friend to say Hegseth had a “creeping” vibe about her, the AP noted.

She said “things got blurry” in the evening. Hegseth allegedly took her to a hotel room, took her phone and stopped her from leaving. She said she had a memory of a shirtless Hegseth leaning over her, with his dog tags hanging above her.

The nurse who treated her contacted police about the allegation, the AP said.

Hegseth, a Trump loyalist, has faced other setbacks in his bid to lead the world’s largest military. He never rose to a rank above major while serving in the army and lacks leadership experience.

Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Online Sexual Assault Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center website.