Jim Geraghty of National Review Online highlights disturbing new information revealed about Capitol Hill.
[Y]our tax dollars were used to pay settlements with the victims of sexual harassment, and the fact that we now have names and specific amounts is big news. And the person we must thank for this new information is . . . controversial GOP representative and South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nancy Mace. …
… Way back in 2017, during the height of the Me Too controversy, female members of Congress made fresh allegations of sexual harassment against unnamed members who were, at that time, still in office. A few days later, the U.S. Congress Office of Compliance released a limited amount of information revealing that it had paid victims more than $17 million in 268 settlements since its creation in the 1990s. …
… For a long while, those who paid attention to this arrangement found it outrageous — Representative Gropey McWanderinghands gets inappropriate with his female staffers, the staffers file complaints, and your money gets used to make the whole scandal go away quietly. …
… It is nice to know that in an era of seemingly relentless partisan warfare, where just about any issue can turn into a fierce and intractable divide, every now and then, Democrats and Republicans can put aside their differences and come to a bipartisan agreement on what matters most.
In this case, a solid majority of both Democrats and Republicans agreed that the public should not know about all the sexual misconduct or harassment reports involving members or their staffers. (What, you thought this story was going to have a happy ending?) …
… Mace tried another route; she and the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed the specific sexual harassment cases that had resulted in settlements to former staffers using taxpayer funds. …
… The good news is that since 2018, if a member of Congress settles a lawsuit involving his or her personal conduct, the lawmaker must reimburse the Treasury for any payouts.
