There's a new report that there was a separate case of sex videos at the Capitol, this time in the House of Representatives.
According to Semafor, the videos circulated on Snapchat last year. Semafor viewed the videos and was able to determine that they were taken in the House.
One of the videos, watched by Semafor, featured a man masturbating inside a House office building, which was identifiable by standard Capitol House furniture and carpeting. The desk at which the videographer performed also held a branded congressional mouse pad. A screenshot of a second video obtained by Semafor shows two men engaged in a sex act in an office setting. The participants’ faces are not visible in any of the material viewed by Semafor.
Semafor said that a spokesperson for Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) confirmed that there were reports of “purported, unbecoming behavior” by one of their staffers. But the spokesperson said there was "no conclusive evidence" that it was the staffer. The spokesperson said their office "immediately contacted the appropriate House entities to conduct an independent investigation.”
The staffer has denied the allegations, and said he was told that the investigation ended with “no evidence to the allegation.” He left the job, he says, on good terms in the fall of 2022, to take another job.
So that raises the question of what was the result of the investigation by the powers that be. Is that the Capitol Police? The report doesn't say, but that seems likely. Why didn't we hear about it before? What did they find out when they investigated? If it wasn't Newhouse's staffer, who was it and is he still working in the Capitol?
And just how many instances of this are there? Was Madison Cawthorn right when he was talking about all kinds of perversion at the Capitol? How many of these things have been investigated by the Capitol Police or other authorities? How many have been reported?
We knew the Capitol had problems. We know how much politicians have failed us in general on policies and getting things done, but this is taking bad to another level.
The Capitol Police are investigating the new case that reportedly involved Sen. Ben Cardin's staffer. Cardin said, "I was angry. I was disappointed," He called it "a breach of trust." He said his office would fully cooperate with any investigation by the Capitol Police. Cardin said he acted immediately to make sure the staffer was no longer working for the Senate. He wouldn't characterize his relationship with the staffer and said he wasn't the person to ask about whether the staffer exhibited any unusual behavior.
Cardin on the staffer: pic.twitter.com/fstAqdBn2h
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 18, 2023
As we noted in that case, there were questions about who knew what when amidst reports the people in the office knew about the staffer's NSFW social media problem because he posted on his social media they allegedly asked him to tone it down. Cardin's office has not confirmed that report.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member