Sex scandals and corruption are nothing new on Capitol Hill. So it might not be surprising to learn that the two sometimes mingle when powerful individuals seek to sweep their dalliances (or worse) under the rug.

But rarely does one lawmaker go on the record to call out colleagues by name for engaging in such behavior.

That’s exactly what Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) did on social media, however, as the Daily Caller reported:

Mace said she uncovered 1,000 pages of documents detailing how certain lawmakers allegedly evaded consequences for sexual scandals, according to a Monday post on X. Mace originally subpoenaed the House Oversight Committee in March in light of a string of sexual scandals that resulted in two resignations from Congress.

Notably, Mace said that these documents are only from the last 22 years, claiming that all reports prior to 2004 were “destroyed.” Mace later named six lawmakers she alleges covered up their sex scandals with the “slush fund.”

“Accountability is not a threat,” Mace said. “It is a promise.”

Mace followed up her original tweet with one listing the alleged cases and their settlements. Mace’s post names six lawmakers including former Republican Louisiana Rep. Rodney Alexander, former Republican Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold, former Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Patrick Meehan, former Democratic New York Rep. Eric Massa, former Democratic Michigan Rep. John Conyers, and the office of former Democratic New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy.

She even brought the receipts:

The bombshell post drew significant reaction from other users, including some who applauded the revelation along with many others who were more than skeptical that this represents anywhere close to the actual number of such incidents:

Politico also reported on the bipartisan list of names cited in Mace’s post:

The payouts she listed, which were confirmed by the person familiar with the data provided to the Oversight Committee, included some that had already been publicly disclosed.

POLITICO reported in 2018, for instance, that Meehan promised to reimburse the government for a $39,000 severance payment to settle a sexual harassment claim. Farenthold also resigned in 2018, amid a House Ethics Committee inquiry into his conduct and in the wake of revelations about a $84,000 settlement with a former staffer. Farenthold died last year.

Others, however, appear to be new revelations, and the total scope of the payments is about double what was disclosed to lawmakers in 2017 during the last period of intense focus on lawmaker misconduct.

Public reporting linked Massa, who resigned pending an Ethics Committee probe in 2010, with an $85,000 settlement, but the payments listed by Mace include an additional $30,000. Massa could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.

Similarly, Conyers — who died in 2019 — had been publicly associated with a roughly $27,000 severance payment made in 2014 to an accuser. Mace lists a separate $50,000 payment made in 2010.

The Office of Congressional Workplace Rights said in a letter to Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) that it had approved 80 awards or settlements for complaints against House or Senate lawmakers’ offices between 1996 and 2018, part of a total of 349 complaints made against legislative branch offices. The letter said a number of case files had been destroyed or were scheduled to be destroyed pursuant to OCWR’s retention policy.

Here’s a long-form interview with the South Carolina Republican from this week:

What’s your opinion?

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
 

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