House Kills Effort To Release All Congressional Sexual Misconduct And Harassment Reports - Beritaja

WASHINGTON — The House connected Wednesday voted to scuttle an effort by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace to shed much ray connected intersexual misconduct allegations against members of Congress.

Mace, a blimpish Republican who is moving to beryllium politician of South Carolina, forced a level ballot on her resolution directing the House Ethics Committee to make nationalist each reports connected allegations of legislature lawmakers and aides engaging successful intersexual misconduct aliases harassment.

But successful a 357-65 vote, the House voted to mention the Mace solution to committee — a move that efficaciously killed it.

The Ethics Committee had encouraged members to ballot to mention the resolution. In a associated statement, the Republican and Democratic leaders of the committee based on it "could chill unfortunate practice and witnesser information successful ongoing and early investigations" and would make it harder for the committee "to analyse and destruct intersexual misconduct successful the House."

“Here and elsewhere, perpetrators of intersexual misconduct should ne'er beryllium shielded from work for their misdeeds,” Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., and Ranking Member Mark DeSaulnier, D-Calif., said.

But, they added, “victims whitethorn beryllium retraumatized by nationalist disclosures of interim activity product, excerpts of question and reply transcripts, and definite exhibits. And witnesses, who often only speak to the Committee confidentially aliases connected information of early anonymity, could fearfulness retaliation if their practice is made public.”

Mace has spoken openly about her ain experiences arsenic a sexual-assault survivor, and she’s been astatine the halfway of the conflict complete releasing the government’s Jeffrey Epstein files. She was 1 of conscionable 4 House Republicans who teamed pinch Democrats connected a discharge petition past autumn that circumvented her ain GOP activity and yet led to the Justice Department’s merchandise of the Epstein files.

She said her solution came aft Beritaja and different outlets reported that a GOP colleague, Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales, had sent sexual matter messages to a female aide, Regina Santos-Aviles, pinch whom he allegedly had an matter earlier she died by termination past year. Gonzales antecedently denied having an matter but has not addressed the constituent of the allegations since the matter messages came to light.

Mace is among respective Republicans who person called connected Gonzales to resign.

“I would for illustration members of Congress to show their female colleagues wherever they guidelines connected intersexual harassment wrong the U.S. House of Representatives,” Mace told reporters. “Do you support women up here, that activity up here, and who are your colleagues, aliases do you not?”

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., forced the ballot connected releasing each intersexual misconduct reports connected members of Congress and their staff.Heather Diehl / Getty Images

Earlier Wednesday, the House Ethics sheet said it will unfastened an investigation into the allegations against Gonzales. House rules explicitly prohibit lawmakers from engaging successful relationships pinch their ain unit members.

In a little statement, Gonzales said of the Ethics probe: “I invited the opportunity to coming each the facts to the committee.”

Just because the Ethics Committee has launched a general investigation into Gonzales doesn't mean its study would ever spot the ray of day. Since the Ethics sheet only has jurisdiction complete sitting members of Congress, the investigation would extremity if he abruptly resigned from office, aliases if he loses his spot this twelvemonth and the study is not yet complete.

In Tuesday night's superior successful Texas, Gonzales was forced into a May runoff predetermination against GOP challenger Brandon Herrera.