Newly released documents reveal more than $300,000 in taxpayer-funded sexual harassment settlements involving lawmakers
Taxpayers paid more than $300,000 for secret sexual harassment settlements on behalf of six former members of the House of Representatives or their offices, according to GOP Rep. Nancy Mace and documents reviewed by CNN.
The Congressional Office of Workplace Rights was forced to turn over settlement documents to Congress following a subpoena from Mace, who led transparency and accountability efforts following a couple’s sexual misconduct allegations on Capitol Hill. senior resignations.
CNN’s review of more than 1,000 pages of case files, including attorneys’ notes, settlement documents and formal complaints, sheds light on allegations that some members used their positions of power to mistreat employees.
The Congressional Office on Workplace Rights handles not only sexual harassment allegations but also a variety of complaints against members.
In a letter to House Oversight Chairman James Comer obtained by CNN, the general counsel said that from January 1, 1996, to December 12, 2018, the office approved 349 awards or settlements “to resolve complaints against legislatures.” 80 of those cases were decided by a House or Senate office for a number of different reasons. Seven cases from this subgroup resulted in payouts for sexual harassment claims. The payments referred to in the letter used taxpayers’ money from a Treasury account, which is no longer available as an option for MPs.
Twenty-three case files under the jurisdiction of the Congressional Office on Workplace Rights were destroyed in accordance with the office’s records retention policy.
“This ‘OCWR Records Retention Policy’ was implemented in 2013 to align OCWR with regular government-wide records retention practices,” wrote General Counsel John N. Ohlweiler.
The general language of the settlement agreements reviewed by CNN does not include an admission by the defendant office of any wrongdoing; Instead, the office agreed to the settlement “to avoid the inconvenience of protracted litigation and the expense such litigation would impose on the parties and taxpayers,” one agreement read. Settlement agreements also set forth how the office will handle questions regarding the terms or conditions of a plaintiff’s termination.
Following policy changes in 2018 in the wake of the #MeToo Movement, members could no longer rely on taxpayer money for payments. The House Ethics Committee announced in a recent statement that since the new law went into effect, “the Committee has not been notified of any decisions or settlements regarding a member’s allegations of sexual harassment.”
Mace named six former lawmakers or lawmakers’ offices involved in settlements totaling more than $300,000 in an X post on Monday. Many of the members named by the congressman resigned from Congress after being publicly confronted with sexual misconduct allegations, including former Reps. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, and Texas Republican Blake Farenthold.
In many of these cases, it was publicly reported prior to their resignation that the member had used taxpayer funds for settlement.
CNN attempted to reach the former member named by Mace or a representative for all six members. Three of the former lawmakers named by the congressman, including Conyers and Farenthold, have died.
In 2017, the House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into Conyers. rejected did not commit any wrongdoing, but did not dispute the existence of a settlement or payment. Documents show more than $27,000 in severance pay and another $50,000 settlement payment were made on behalf of Conyers.
farenthold resigned The same year, in 2018, he also faced an ethics investigation. He denied some of the allegations against him but apologized for using inappropriate language and his role in creating a hostile workplace, and promised to repay taxpayer money used in the settlement. Documents show an $84,000 deal was made on behalf of Farenthold.
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