The following article by the Roll Call Staff was posted on their website December 7, 2017:
Texas Republican accused of sexual harassment, retaliation
The House Ethics committee announced Thursday it unanimously voted to establish a subcommittee to build on its investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Texas Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold.
So far, the panel has reviewed more than 200,000 pages and interviewed multiple witnesses, according to a statement released by Ethics Chairwoman Susan W. Brooks of Indiana and ranking member Ted Deutch of Florida.
The allegations against Farenthold that the new Ethics Investigative Subcommittee will look into include sexual harassment, discrimination on the basis of gender, inappropriate comments made to staff and retaliation based on those accusations.
The House Administration Committee revealed last week that the Office of Compliance, which oversees the response to sexual harassment complaints on the Hill, had paid $84,000 for such claims. While no parties were named, reports tied the settlement to Farenthold’s office. The congressman later said he would would pay the government back the money.
Correction: An earlier version of this story briefly misspelled Rep. Blake Farenthold’s first name.
View the post here.