More

    House KILLS Effort to Release All Congressional Sexual Misconduct, Harassment Reports

    Published on

    The House just voted 357-65 to bury a resolution that would have forced the release of all congressional sexual misconduct and harassment reports—effectively ensuring that lawmakers accused of predatory behavior can keep hiding behind institutional secrecy.

    Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican and sexual assault survivor, forced the floor vote on her resolution directing the House Ethics Committee to make all such reports public. The bipartisan response? Kill it by referring it to committee, where it will die quietly.

    The Ethics Committee—led by Republican Michael Guest and Democrat Mark DeSaulnier—urged members to vote against transparency, arguing the resolution “could chill victim cooperation and witness participation” and might “re-traumatize” victims through “public disclosures of interim work product.”

    Translation: We’ll protect the powerful by claiming we’re protecting the vulnerable.

    Mace introduced the resolution after NBC News reported that Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas had sent sexually explicit text messages to a female aide, Regina Santos-Aviles, with whom he allegedly had an affair before she died by suicide last year. Gonzales previously denied the affair but has gone silent since the texts surfaced.

    “I would like members of Congress to tell their female colleagues where they stand on sexual harassment within the U.S. House of Representatives,” Mace told reporters. “Do you support women up here, that work up here, and who are your colleagues, or do you not?”

    The House answered: Not really.

    The Ethics Committee did announce Wednesday it’s opening an investigation into Gonzales. He said in a statement he “welcome[s] the opportunity to present all the facts to the committee.”

    But here’s the thing about Ethics Committee investigations: they only have jurisdiction over sitting members. If Gonzales resigns or loses his seat before the report is done, it disappears. He was just forced into a May runoff election Tuesday night against a GOP challenger, so that’s a very real possibility.

    Mace has been at the center of the fight for transparency before—she was one of just four House Republicans who teamed with Democrats on a discharge petition that eventually forced the Justice Department to release the Jeffrey Epstein files.

    Only 65 members voted against burying her resolution. The other 357 decided that when it comes to sexual misconduct allegations against their colleagues, what happens in Congress should stay in Congress.

    Latest articles

    Talk About A Pillow Fight: Trump Ally Mike Lindell Served Legal Papers On Live TV At CPAC

    MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell was served legal papers during a live OAN interview at CPAC, just one day after a federal judge upheld a defamation verdict against him for spreading lies about the 2020 election. He threw the documents on the floor.

    Bette Midler Remakes Classic Song to Shade Trump (And it’s a Banger)

    Bette Midler released an updated version of Woody Guthrie's 1944 anti-fascist anthem that calls Trump a pedophile protector and rallies fans ahead of the nationwide No Kings marches on March 28. The White House responded by having a spokesman with degrees from his dad's unaccredited university call journalists 'glue-sniffing interns.'

    Trump Wants 10,000 More Troops in the Middle East While Pretending He’s Negotiating Peace

    The Pentagon is considering sending 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East as Trump simultaneously claims Iran is desperate to negotiate — while Iran flatly denies any talks are happening. Thirteen service members are already dead and nearly 300 wounded in a war with no stated objective and no congressional authorization.

    Joe Rogan Calls Hillary Clinton ‘More MAGA Than MAGA’

    Joe Rogan told his millions of listeners that Hillary Clinton's old immigration stances are "more MAGA than MAGA." The actual deportation numbers — 3.1 million under Obama vs. 932,000 under Trump's first term — back him up in a way that torches Trump's entire brand.

    More like this

    Talk About A Pillow Fight: Trump Ally Mike Lindell Served Legal Papers On Live TV At CPAC

    MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell was served legal papers during a live OAN interview at CPAC, just one day after a federal judge upheld a defamation verdict against him for spreading lies about the 2020 election. He threw the documents on the floor.

    Bette Midler Remakes Classic Song to Shade Trump (And it’s a Banger)

    Bette Midler released an updated version of Woody Guthrie's 1944 anti-fascist anthem that calls Trump a pedophile protector and rallies fans ahead of the nationwide No Kings marches on March 28. The White House responded by having a spokesman with degrees from his dad's unaccredited university call journalists 'glue-sniffing interns.'

    Trump Wants 10,000 More Troops in the Middle East While Pretending He’s Negotiating Peace

    The Pentagon is considering sending 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East as Trump simultaneously claims Iran is desperate to negotiate — while Iran flatly denies any talks are happening. Thirteen service members are already dead and nearly 300 wounded in a war with no stated objective and no congressional authorization.