Some in the media have tried to suggest that Rep. Katie Hill (D-CA) resigned because of consensual affairs she had while married. The problem is that, consensual or not, Hill was in a position of power and according to the Left’s #MeToo rules, no person in a position of power can truly receive consent from a subordinate for a relationship.
Buzzfeed, for example, headlined its story about Hill’s resignation by saying she resigned “after details of her sex life were published.” New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie said the “big story” of Hill’s resignation “is the fact that she’s a victim of revenge porn from her ex-husband, published and publicized by a conservative media outlet.” A former Democratic candidate from Florida speculated that Hill resigned “because Dem leadership is forcing her to out of fear of GOP rhetoric in defending her seat” and added that Democrats learned very little the Al Franken episode.
In her resignation letter, Hill washed over her inappropriate relationships with staffers to call her husband “abusive.” The two are going through a nasty divorce.
“This is what needs to happen so that the good people who supported me will no longer be subjected to the pain inflicted by my abusive husband and the brutality of hateful political operatives who seem to happily provide a platform to a monster who is driving a smear campaign built around cyber exploitation,” Hill wrote in her resignation letter. “Having private photos of personal moments weaponized against me has been an appalling invasion of my privacy. It’s also illegal, and we are currently pursuing all of our available legal options.”
Last week, Hill denied allegations that she had an affair wither her legislative director, Graham Kelly. She did not deny that she had an inappropriate relationship with a campaign staffer, but stressed that it was consensual.
Late last week, the House Ethics Committee announced it would open an investigation into whether Hill had a sexual relationship with her legislative director. In Chairman Ted Deutch’s (D-FL) announcement of the investigation, he emphasized that the investigation itself did not indicate guilt, something absent from announcements from Democrats when Brett Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault during his Supreme Court nomination.
“The Committee notes that the mere fact that it is investigating these allegations, and publicly disclosing its review, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee. No other public comment will be made on this matter except in accordance with Committee rules,” Deutch wrote.
It was odd to see so many Democrats and their media counterparts suggesting Hill had done nothing wrong but was, in fact, a victim. Last year, the House prohibited lawmakers from having sexual relationships with their staffers. The Washington Post reported that the prohibition was introduced by Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA) and took immediate effect, thanks to the #MeToo movement exposing inappropriate relationships and payouts from lawmakers.
Yet when a woman was the boss, the media’s tune on office relationships changed.