UNITED STATES
Defense One
July 2019
By Marcus Weisgerber
Cleared by Air Force investigators, Gen. Hyten may yet face questions during his Senate confirmation process.
An allegation of sexual assault — though found baseless by Air Force investigators — could complicate the Senate confirmation of a top general slated to become the U.S. military’s No. 2 officer.
The accused is Gen. John Hyten, who leads U.S. Strategic Command and has been formally nominated to become the next Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Air Force officials opened an investigation into the alleged incident, which took place sometime between late 2017 and early 2018, according to multiple defense and congressional aides familiar with the matter.
Hyten was cleared by “a comprehensive investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations,” Pentagon spokesman Col. DeDe Halfhill wrote in a Wednesday statement to Defense One. “There was insufficient evidence to support any finding of misconduct on the part of Gen. Hyten,” who cooperated with the investigation, Halfhill said.
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