The House voted to punt a resolution Wednesday that would have released records from all House Ethics Committee investigations into sexual harassment and unwelcome sexual advances by members.
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace introduced the resolution after messages surfaced recently that revealed her GOP colleague, Rep. Tony Gonzales, sent lewd texts to a staffer who later died by suicide.
Rather than vote on the measure directly, the House voted to refer the matter to the Ethics Committee for further consideration, essentially delaying the effort indefinitely.
The motion passed 357-65, with 38 Republican and 27 Democrats voting “no.” Rep. Brad Knott, a Republican from North Carolina and a member of the Ethics Committee, voted present.
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Notably, Gonzales voted to refer the measure to Ethics. Rep. Cory Mills, who has come under scrutiny for allegations of domestic violence, voted against the referral.
“The American people are held to one standard and Congress is held wholly to another,” Mace told reporters before the vote. “And you’re going to watch men in Congress, Republicans and Democrats, this afternoon, hide behind the veil of ‘let the process play out,’ and it’s going to get referred to committee.”
“It will not see the light of day,” she predicted, “because the process is broken.”
In a rare public statement, Rep. Michael Guest, the Ethics Committee’s chair, and Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, the ranking member, declared their opposition to Mace’s resolution, and recommended it be referred to the committee.
Mace’s resolution, the statement said, “could have a negative impact on the Committee’s ability to investigate and eliminate sexual misconduct in the House.”
“We believe the forced disclosures mandated by House Resolution 1072 could chill victim cooperation and witness participation in ongoing and future investigations,” the statement reads. “Victims may be retraumatized by public disclosures of interim work product, excerpts of interview transcripts, and certain exhibits. And witnesses, who often only speak to the Committee confidentially or on condition of future anonymity, could fear retaliation if their cooperation is made public.”
Separately, the Ethics Committee announced that it was establishing an investigative subcommittee to probe whether Gonzales engaged in sexual misconduct toward a congressional aide or “discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.”
Still, Mace and a handful of Republican women who announced support for the creation of the subcommittee blasted the Ethics Committee for blocking their effort to stamp out harassment in Congress.
“I wouldn’t have tolerated it on the Democrat side. I’m sure as hell not going to tolerate it on the Republican side,” Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna told reporters of sexual harassment in Congress.
“Not to mention, I have young female staff in my office,” she said. “What does that say to them?”
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