Sen. Martha McSally, a survivor of military sexual assault, threw her support behind Air Force Gen. John Hyten, who has been accused of sexual assault, at his confirmation hearing to become the military’s second highest-ranking officer.
Hyten’s fate was expected to lie at least in part with McSally, a key Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Earlier this year, the Arizona senator revealed she was raped by a fellow Air Force officer during her time in the service. Hyten was accused of sexual assault after President Trump nominated him in April to take over as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“When I disclosed in a hearing earlier this year that I, too, was a survivor of military sexual assault, I never saw myself in this position,” McSally said. “As a 26-year veteran and member of this committee charged with oversight of our military and confirmation of nominees for senior military positions, I do not take the allegations made against General Hyten lightly. I take them extremely seriously and I treated them as such.”
McSally said she spent the past three weeks focused on the issue “in an effort to seek the truth.” Commending the committee’s efforts, she said she had decided to endorse Hyten.
“As a result of the exhaustive process and extreme due diligence, I have full confidence in General Hyten’s ability to be the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” McSally said.
“To be clear, this wasn’t just a jump ball, not a ‘he said, she said,’ not a situation where we just couldn’t prove what allegedly happened. I, too, believe that truth still matters in this country, and the full truth was revealed in this process. The truth is that General Hyten is innocent of these charges. Sexual assault happens in the military. It just didn’t happen in this case.”
In addition to working with him on national security matters, McSally said she looked forward to having Hyten’s partnership in future efforts to help prevent sexual assault in the military and improve its response to future incidents.
Army Col. Kathryn Spletstoser, 51, accused Hyten, 60, of making unwanted sexual advances toward her in 2017 while working as one of his aides. She said Hyten proceeded to damage her career after she rejected the advances. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations examined the incident and found insufficient evidence to charge or punish Hyten.
Earlier in the hearing, former Air Force secretary Heather Wilson, who oversaw the investigation, testified that she believes the accusation is false.
