Another Democrat is under investigation for an improper sexual relationship with a staffer:
SUN-SENTINEL – The House Ethics Committee said Thursday it is investigating U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings’ relationship with his longtime girlfriend, who is on the government payroll.
The Ethics Committee didn’t identify the staffer in question, but the case clearly refers to Patricia Williams, the deputy director in Hastings’ office in his Broward-Palm Beach County district.
Williams, who is the congressman’s highest-paid staffer, and Hastings have been in a relationship for decades. And critics have raised questions about it for years.
But there’s been a sea change in society’s attitudes toward employer-employee relationships. The emergence of the #MeToo movement, in which powerful men in business, politics and the media came under new scrutiny for forcing women into sex, prompted a 2018 House rule change that prohibited sexual relationships between members of Congress and their employees.
There isn’t any indication that the Hastings-Williams relationship isn’t consensual, but the relationship appears to violate the rule that states a member of Congress “may not engage in a sexual relationship with any employee of the House who works under the supervision” of the member or on a committee on which the member serves. It doesn’t apply to couples who are married.
The Ethics Committee, which said it began its investigation on May 14, provided few details.
In a written statement, the committee announced that it is “aware of public allegations arising out of Representative Alcee Hastings’ personal relationship with an individual employed in his congressional office.” The committee said it is considering whether his relationship with the employee violates a House rule and whether he “has received any improper gifts” from the employee.
Clearly this isn’t the same thing as Katie Hill’s crazy throuple garbage. But the rules did change and Hastings apparently decided to keep her on staff despite the rules.
But I suspect that they will just give him a slap on the hand and tell him to fire Williams so they can stay together. Or he might just do that on his own, or retire from the House. Hastings is 83 years old so he has probably thought about retiring before…