Republican Lawmaker Patrick Meehan Removed From The House Ethics Committee

Ugh. It never ends.

According to this, Republican lawmaker Patrick Meehan was removed from the House Ethics Committee after it was revealed that he used taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment claim with a former staffer.

Lovely.

Via NYT (sorry, but they have the scoop on this one):

WASHINGTON — Representative Patrick Meehan, a Pennsylvania Republican who has taken a leading role in fighting sexual harassment in Congress, used thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to settle his own misconduct complaint after a former aide accused him last year of making unwanted romantic overtures to her, according to several people familiar with the settlement.

A married father of three, Mr. Meehan, 62, had long expressed interest in the personal life of the aide, who was decades younger and had regarded the congressman as a father figure, according to three people who worked with the office and four others with whom she discussed her tenure there.

But after the woman became involved in a serious relationship with someone outside the office last year, Mr. Meehan professed his romantic desires for her — first in person, and then in a handwritten letter — and he grew hostile when she did not reciprocate, the people familiar with her time in the office said.

The staffer claims office life became too much to bear, so she filed a complaint and stopped working for him.

She later reached a confidential agreement with Mr. Meehan’s office that included a settlement for an undisclosed amount to be paid from Mr. Meehan’s congressional office fund.

Meehan denies the accusations.

On Saturday, John Elizandro, Mr. Meehan’s communications director, issued a statement saying that the congressman “denies these allegations” and “has always treated his colleagues, male and female, with the utmost respect and professionalism.”

Mr. Meehan called on the former aide to waive the confidentiality agreement in the settlement “to ensure a full and open airing of all the facts.” Mr. Elizandro did not respond to follow-up questions about why Mr. Meehan had agreed to the settlement and the confidentiality provision if the allegations were false.

Alexis Ronickher, a lawyer for the former aide, called Mr. Meehan’s statement “a desperate effort to preserve his career.” She said the congressman had demanded confidentiality in the first place, and was now asking her client to waive it knowing that she would not agree because she “prizes her privacy above all else.”

House Speaker Paul Ryan’s Press Secretary AshLee Strong released a statement, telling The Hill, “Following a conversation with the Speaker today, Mr. Meehan will immediately submit himself to the Ethics Committee for review.”

“The new reforms going into place bar the use of taxpayer money to pay settlements, and so the speaker has also told Mr. Meehan that he should repay whatever taxpayer funds were used to settle this case,” she said.

“In addition, Mr. Meehan is being immediately removed from the House Ethics Committee,” she added.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) has removed Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-PA) from his post on the Ethics Committee after it came to light that the Congressman tried to cloak a payout as salary for an aide who he allegedly sexually harassed. The payout came from federal coffers

— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 20, 2018

Ryan’s office says Meehan will submit his own conduct & questions of sexual harassment to the Ethics Committee for review. The Speaker says Meehan should return to Congress the money used for the payout. Ryan also removed Meehan from the Ethics Committee.

— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 20, 2018

Ryan spox AshLee Strong on PA Rep Meehan & sexual harassment payout: Though Mr. Meehan has denied the allegations, they must be fully and immediately investigated by the House Ethics Committee.

— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 20, 2018

Pay up, Meehan.