Wouldn’t it just be easier to list all of the people that aren’t guilty of sexual harassment, assault or general misconduct?
According to POLITICO, Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) “used taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment claim brought by his former spokesman, Lauren Greene."
POLITICO reported:
Greene claimed in the lawsuit that another Farenthold aide told her the lawmaker had “sexual fantasies” and “wet dreams” about Greene. She also claimed that Farenthold “regularly drank to excess” and told her in February 2014 that he was “estranged from his wife and had not had sex with her in years.”
When she complained about comments Farenthold and a male staffer made to her, Greene said the congressman improperly fired her. She filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, but the case was later dropped after both parties reached a private settlement.
The settlement that was agreed upon was reportedly in the amount of $84,000. However, Greene’s attorneys didn’t confirm to POLITICO whether their client was the actual recipient of the $84,000.
The claims against Farenthold seems to feed into the charge by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) that “about $15 million has been paid out by the House on behalf of harassers in the last 10 to 15 years.”
In a statement, Farenthold would “neither confirm nor deny” his involvement in any such settlement with Greene.
“While I 100% support more transparency with respect to claims against members of Congress,” Farenthold said, “I can neither confirm nor deny that settlement involved my office as the Congressional Accountability Act prohibits me from answering that question.”
Members of Congress seem to be exempt or protected from a little too much, wouldn’t you say?
The flip side to the story is that the Office of Congressional Ethics said that there isn’t “substantial reason to believe that Representative Farnethod sexually harassed or discriminated against” Greene.
The revelation against Farenthold comes about three weeks after the congressman filed for reelection.
Farenthold seems to have some ‘splainin to do.