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So #Democrats and #Uniparty are going with the same kind of "sexual misconduct/assault" narratives with #mattgaetz and #petehegseth like they pushed in their effort to prevent the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh?? Can you "smell" the desperation?? Here is the latest from #politicoplaybook if you don't think this is literally all they have in their arsenal - HEGSETH FACES THE SENATE’S GLARE — When it comes to President-elect DONALD TRUMP’s nominees, MATT GAETZ has been sucking up all the oxygen in Washington.But he’s not the only one facing a rocky confirmation process. Today, PETE HEGSETH will get his day under the microscope: He’s headed to Capitol Hill to meet with GOP senators. Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon hasn’t received a ton of scrutiny — yet — but he will. The 44-year-old Army National Guard veteran-turned-Fox News star has been accused by a conservative woman of sexually assaulting her during a conference in 2017, resulting in an agreement that had him pay an undisclosed settlement and had her sign a non-disclosure agreement. He contends the drunken encounter was consensual. New details reported overnight offer substantial contemporaneous support for that woman’s claim. “An emergency room nurse contacted police in 2017 after treating a woman who said that while drinking with colleagues after a political gathering several nights earlier she may have been drugged and was then sexually assaulted by a man she later identified as Pete Hegseth, according to records released late Wednesday by the Monterey Police Department,” WaPo’s Danielle Paquette and Jonathan O'Connell report. “The accuser — referred to as ‘JANE DOE’ in the 22-page batch of documents released in response to a public records request — met Hegseth at a Republican conference in Monterey, California, where he’d been featured as a speaker. After observing Hegseth behaving ‘inappropriately’ with women at the upscale hotel event, she said she confronted him, officers wrote, and the pair argued. ‘Doe’ recalled Hegseth telling her that he was a ‘nice guy,’ officers wrote. Her next memory was being in an unknown room with Hegseth, according to the police report. She stated that Hegseth then ‘took her phone from her hands’ and blocked the door, according to the documents. ‘JANE DOE remembered saying “no” a lot,’ the report said.” The LA Times’ Clara Harter adds this: “Four days after the encounter, on Oct. 12, Doe went to a hospital to request a sexual assault forensic exam and brought with her the clothes she was wearing during the alleged assault. Doe reported experiencing memory loss and nightmares in the aftermath of the sexual encounter, according to the report. An associate of hers also told officers that she had very little energy and would burst into tears out of the blue after the incident, according to the report.” Read for yourself: the 22-page batch of police documents - https://htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/files/hegseth-673ec27f8a75f.pdf Hegseth’s lawyer, TIMOTHY PARLATORE, said in response that the documents show the allegation was “fully investigated” and that no charges were ultimately filed. But the assault accusation isn’t the only reason Hegseth is raising eyebrows. His critics say he simply lacks the qualifications to run the biggest bureaucracy in the government — especially when compared to decorated leaders like LLOYD AUSTIN and JIM MATTIS. Hegseth has said — as recently as Nov. 7 — that women shouldn’t be allowed in combat. Good luck explaining that position to someone like Sen. JONI ERNST (R-Iowa), a combat veteran on the Judiciary panel, or Sen. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-Ill.), the double amputee who lost her legs while working as an Army helicopter pilot in Iraq. In short, we’ve never seen a Pentagon nominee quite like this, as our colleague Joe Gould noted in this morning’s Playbook Daily Briefing — which is perhaps why you see many Republicans, including incoming Senate Armed Services Chair ROGER WICKER (R-Miss.), deflecting when asked to weigh in. But despite GOP concerns with the selection, as recently detailed by Joe and Connor O’Brien, concerns don’t necessarily translate to opposition in Trump’s Washington. One Republican to watch closely: Ernst, who also happens to be a vocal champion of protecting women against sexual assault in the military. In 2019, when the Senate overwhelmingly confirmed Air Force Gen. JOHN HYTEN to become vice chairman of the joint chiefs despite sexual assault allegations against him, Ernst was the lone Republican who opposed him. And one big question hanging over the Senate: If the Trump administration refuses to do an actual background check on Hegseth, will Wicker decide the committee has to do its own? Already, Democrats are saying that’s essential. But with the pressure on Republicans to fall in line fast, we’ll see if the GOP majority agrees.