For Joint Chiefs nominee, a subdued hearing addressing contentious charges
WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump's pick to be the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Tuesday publicly defended himself against sexual assault allegations that have clouded his nomination, picking up support from key lawmakers as his accuser, an Army colonel, sat just feet away.
And although the accusations against him are part of a wider cultural issue that has filtered into the presidential campaign, two members of the committee running for president skipped the hearing _ and a chance to question the nominee.
"I want to state to you, and to the American people, that these allegations are false," Air Force Gen. John Hyten told the Senate Armed Services Committee, with his wife Laura sitting behind him. "Nothing happened _ ever."
Col. Kathryn A. Spletstoser has alleged that Hyten, on numerous occasions, inappropriately touched and kissed her on numerous occasions, including in a hotel room at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California, when she worked for him in 2017.
"You just had a four-star general get up in front of the American people, and in open testimony in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee and make false official statements under oath," Spletstoser said after the hearing. "He lied about sexually assaulting me. He did it. He did multiple times."
_CQ Roll Call
