with me now is army colonel kathryn spletstoser. colonel, thank you very much for >> you're welcome. >> woodruff: so tell us first, what was your relationship with general hyten before these advances that you say happened took place? >> well, i was his director, his commander action group director. i basically developed a pretty good relationship with him early on. i was probably hisv most faorite subordinate, first among equals, that's the way he treated me. >> woodrufhi saw m every day? >> every day all day and on travel, yes. >> woodruff: and you say that these unwelcomed advancesin starte early 2017. just give us an example. >>o it started in january 2017 on a trip to palo alto, and we were doing work in his hotel after his - hhistel room after work, he asked me to stay behind. we went over and covered some stuff for the next day, engagements at stanford, and then as i was leaving heal ac stopped me on my way out the door, pulled my hand to his groin and he had an erect erectpenis. i was veryhocked and cofused. i didn't understa

. >> reporter: tonight, graphic and disturbing allegations from colonel kathryn spletstoser. her lawyer telling abc news the 28-year army veteran felt she had a moral responsibility to come forward. in explicit detail, she tells the "new york times" that in december of 2017, at a defense forum in california, her then boss, air force general john hyten, came to her hotel room saying he wanted to talk to her. spletstoser says he "pulled her to him and kissed her on the lips while pressing himself against her" and then ejaculated. she said he later apologized and said he had tried to kiss and touch her "several times" prior to this alleged assault. hayten, who would be the country's number two military officer if confirmed as the next joint chiefs vice chairman, denies the allegations which were reported just after his formal nomination was announced in april. military investigators concluded there was insufficient evidence to support the accusations findings. earlier this week, both hyten and spletstoser testified privately before the senate armed services committee. senate rep

> reporter: general john hyten today sitting just steps away from his accuser, army colonel kathryn spletstoser, a former aide at u.s. strategic command. the 28-year veteran told "the new york times" in explicit detail that hyten, her former boss, sexually assaulted her in her hotel room during a conference in 2017. she claims it was one of several unwanted advances. but a military investigation found sufficient evidence to charge or punish hyten. today, senator martha mcsally, who has shared her own experience with sexual assault in the air force, gave hyten her full support. >> sexual assault happens in the military. it just didn't happen in this case. >> reporter: but some senators are concerned. >> while we have not been presented with any corroborating evidence, the lack of it does not necessarily mean that the accusations aren't true. >> reporter: spletstoser telling us she worries hyten will be confirmed. >> it says that if you are a senior general or officer who is a popular guy, you will get away with felony sexual assault. >> reporter: david, the senate armed services committee is set

. >> reporter: army colonel kathryn spletstoser testified in closed session before the senate armed servicesmittee but had to sit silently in the audience today as general hyten vehemently denied her charges. v these allegations are false. nothing happened, ever. >> reporter: heather wilson, who was the secretary of the air force at the time, said a criminal investigation found no evidence to substantiate the ncarge. >> general hyten was falsely accused. i accept that it is entirely possible that his accuser is a wounded soldier who believes what she is saying is true, even if it's not. >> reporter: the most powerful voice in the room was former air force pilot, now republican senator, martha mcsally, herself a victim of sexual assault. >> sexual assault happens in the military. it just didn't happen in this case. >> reporter: mcsally stressed she was not just taking the word of a four-star general over that of a lower ranking officer. >> to be clear, this wasn't just a jump ball, not a he said/she ioid, not a situation where we just couldn't prove what allegedly happened. rue full truth was

he has been accused by colonel kathryn spletstoser, of making nonconsensual sexual contact with her including on a work trip in 2016, when she alleges he forcibly kissed her and rubbed against her body until he ejaculated. he has denied the allegations. arizona republican senator martha mcsally, who earlier this year shared her story of b being raped while serving in the militatary, dedefendant john hy. iowa republican senator joni ernst, who this yeyear revealed she was raped when she was a college student, expressed doubts about his dutchman and questioned why he reprimanded his accuser. after the hearing, colonel spletstoser told reporters that john hyten had lied under oath. senators elizabeth warren kirsten gillibrand have called for the colonel to testify publicly before moving ahead with a confirmation vote. virginia, a state delegate disrupted a speech by president, protesting his racist and anti-immigrant policies amid the ongoing outrage over trump's friend's is the tax on house oversight chair elijah cummings in the city -- and the city of baltimore. trump was addressing an event i

. >> brangham: an unprecedented accusation.ti duty army colonel kathryn spletstoser alleged general john hyten, the air force general tapped by president ump to be the pentagon's second in llmmand, lied to the senate today about sexuay assaulting her in 2017. she spoke to reporters immediately after hyten's confirmation hearing, where he again categorically denied her allegations. spletstoser alleged that during a 2017 conference in california, hyten came to her hotel room, kissed, touched, aai pressed up t her until he ejaculated. she says he was infatuated with her and uched her inappropriately several times before. the air force investigated the allegati for several months, and found "insufficient evidence to support any finding of misconduct against general hyten." spletstoser said there was sufficient evidence to charge hyten. since the allethtions emerged, senate armed services committee conducted its own investigation. >> the truth is that general hyten is innocent of these charges. >> brangham: both republicans and democrats today praised the committee's handling of the probe. >>

. >> reporter: army colonel kathryn spletstoser stepping forward to publicly detail sexual assault allegations against her former boss, air force general john hyten, the man nominated to become the military's second most powerful leader. spletstoser told "the new york times" that after a full day at a defense forum in december 2017, hyten knocked on her hotel room door in the evening say he wanted to talk. once inside spletstoser said he pulled her to him and kissed her on the lips while pressing himself against her levering semen on his sweatpants and on her yoga pants. she said he inappropriately touched her several times earlier in 2017 and later was often apologetic afterwards including after the alleged incident in california which she reported after his nomination was announced in april. military investigators found insufficient evidence to support the allegations and hyten denies they happened. a pentagon spokesperson calling him a principled and dedicated patriot, but the public accusation is now casting a shadow over his nomination to be the next joint chiefs vice chairman. and just d

. >> reporter: sitting just a few feet away during the hearing his accuser, army colonel kathryn spletstoserhis former aide at u.s. strategic command. the 28-year veteran tells "the new york times" her former boss sexually assaulted her in her hotel room during a conference in 2017. but a military investigation found insufficient evidence to charge or punish hyten. senator martha mcsally who has publicly shared her own experience with sexual assault in the air force is backing hyten. >> sexual assault happens in the military. it just didn't happen in this case. >> reporter: there was also a military investigation in 2018 into spletstoser's conduct that concluded she created a toxic environment for her staff. spletstoser is firing back. >> it basically tells sexual assault survivors that don't bother to report. you won't be taken seriously. and we'll give your attacker a promotion. >> reporter: the senate armed services committee will hold a confirmation vote for hyten today. he is likely to be approved but he will need the full senate to confirm that nomination. amy? >> all right, stephanie

his accuser was a one-time close aide, army colonel kathryn spletstoser. as she watched the senate arms hearing from her office, her claims were vehemently denied by hyten. >> these allegations are false. nothing happened, ever. >> reporter: and by heather wilson who said a criminal investigation found no evidence to substantiate the allegation. >> general hyten was falsely accused. >> reprter: former air force pilot, now republican senator martha mcsally, herself a victim of sexual assault, said there was evidence not yet made public that convinced her hyten was telling the truth. >> 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. the full truth was revealed in this process. the truth is that general hyten is innocent of these charges. >> reporter: senator joni ernst, a veteran who said she was raped in college, did not question hyten's innocence but questioned his position as officer. after the hearings, spletstoser said she had once again been made the victim. >> wh

he did it multiple times there was corroborating evidence >> reporter: army colonel kathryn spletstoser didn't tell anyone general hyten sexually assaulted her until he was nominated to be the joint chief of staff. >> i want to say these allegations are false. >> reporter: spletstoser worked as a top aide, sitting feet behind him at the confirmation hearing, putting focus on the military's struggle to address the persistent problem of sexual assault within the ranks she revealed her identity in the "new york times" over the weekend, describing in graphic detail his unwanted kissing, touching, and rubbing against her. >> somebody who almost had been been raped that evening -- i was just devastated as a human being. and i was scared >> reporter: the air force's office of special investigations reviewed her allegation. raped that evening -- i was just devastated as a human being. i was scared >> reporter: the air force's office of special investigations reviewed her allegation. they couldn't substantiate her claim and hyten was never referred for court-martial mcsally, who revealed her all