Politico is missing the 1st point
Investigate them or shame them? Inside the debate over how to deal with creeps in Congress
Two recent lawmaker resignations over sexual misconduct allegations have Congress wrestling with a familiar challenge: How can it encourage survivors of abuse to come forward in one of America’s most sensitive workplaces?
Former Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) were both accused of sexual misconduct with staff, putting a fresh spotlight on Capitol Hill’s apparent culture of exploitation — nearly a decade after the #MeToo movement sparked a bipartisan push to improve the reporting process.
Now current and former members are reckoning with the shortcomings of those efforts.
“What we know is that the process is not working, because women staffers are not coming forward with the allegations, the accusations,” Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) said in an interview. “They’re not telling us what happened to them.”
They have zero trust in the process when it comes to investigating Congress members
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), for instance, has asked any congressional staffers experiencing mistreatment or misconduct to bring their allegations directly to her office. Boebert has pledged to keep accusers anonymous as she uses her media platforms to publicize any credible allegations.
While Boebert said in an interview that she hasn’t written off the official channels completely, other options have to be open.
“Whatever actually holds people accountable,” she said. “I mean, that’s what it’s all about — holding creeps accountable.”
The problem with many of these cases is that they do not rise to criminal complaints that would be best in the legal justice system: they are technical violations of the rules of Congress, much like at most people’s places of work. But, in most private companies the harasser would be terminated in a week, tops
There is no traditional human resources department on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers run their offices as fiefdoms with total control. And employees of the legislative branch are not covered by federal whistleblower protection laws like federal workers in the executive branch.
The House Ethics Committee can take months to issue any formal decisions or disciplinary recommendations, sowing doubt among lawmakers that it is the best means for survivors of misconduct to seek justice.
And, if the mostly women being harassed blow the whistle and name names Congress critters can take serious revenge, with all their buddies throughout government getting involved. Or, they get paid off and the Congress critters can continue with their bad behavior. I wonder if they can be sued? Sexual harassment would not be protected actions under the Constitution.
This is a pretty long piece, and worth the read, in terms of many GOP and Dem women saying they are coming after the abusers, but, Politico is missing that important piece: freedom of the press is mentioned specifically in the 1st Amendment, in order for the press to keep government honest, to investigate wrong doing, to hold government accountable. How many in the press knew about what Swalwell was doing, and ignored it, mostly because he is a Democrat? The press needs to do their job.
The person involved is Former state Rep. Cecil Brockman (Democrat), who’s looking at life in prison with all the child sex charges he’s charged with. Maybe the news should be investigating elected people more deeply, along with where all that government money is going.
Read: Politico: Should Congressional Creeps Be Investigated Or Shamed? »
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