I don’t get this forum sometimes. The fact that Hill has or had a “D” next to her name does not excuse her complete failure of judgment and lack of moral compass. She should go and we should find a better Dem candidate. I don’t care what Repukes would do or would not do. I won’t be a hypocrite, and I will hold my political party to a high standard. Yes her husband should be prosecuted if it is confirmed that he leaked the photos. That is a separate issue.

the correct answer.

that at some point they will surface. Hacking, revenge, "mistakes." It will happen. And when "celebrities" (Leslie Jones?) are upset about their photos surface - should have never posed and posted.

Graham Kelley, because she thought ethics rules didn't apply to her.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/california-rep-katie-hill-d-calls-accusations-of-sexual-impropriety-a-smear/2019/10/22/41c4c2b2-f4e5-11e9-a285-882a8e386a96_story.html

Scott Amey, general counsel at the good-government advocacy group Project On Government Oversight, said it would be a clear violation of the code of conduct if Hill had a relationship with a congressional staffer.

“I think it’s unfortunate, the circumstances here, both personally and professionally, but the rules are there to ensure that no one inside Congress is above the law,” Amey said.

If there is an investigation in the House, investigators may also look into the claims involving a campaign staffer.

Though the House code of conduct does not explicitly apply to relationships between members and campaign staffers, the Ethics Committee has previously investigated such claims and determined it has jurisdiction over “misconduct relating to a successful campaign for election to the House.”

We're miles better than the GOP, where just about anything goes.

ON EDIT: yes, I think this was a hit job/revenge porn.
Yes, the GOP should hold their own elected reps to the same high standards...and they clearly wont (the aforementioned Duncan Hunter).

And yes, it sucks in the short term, but I think good overall (as I said, at this level you cannot sleep with your staff and have that be ok heh)

There is no reason for her to resign.

I’m surprised she resigned this fast, and that troubles me.

Thinking there was a lot more going on, not that she didn’t already have enough baggage.

get away with everything, they refuse to be shamed into NOT getting away with stuff. It’s why they’ll always win. Trump was accused, among many other things, in great detail of assaulting a woman in a department store dressing room for croies sake. How embarrassing. How shameful. Did he get all contrite, say he was sorry and slink off the playing field? Hell no. It’s one of the things I admired about Clinton during Lewinsky. He stuck with it.

This woman had a consensual affair. Maybe she just figured she didn’t need the grief who knows. But she was elected and should have stuck it out.

an employee of the House, which is against House rules.

She was going to be investigated. She resigned instead. Case closed.

So take with a grain of salt.

The husband asked this other guy if he had known about his wife and Graham, and the guy answered in the affirmative.

AND we know that Katie Hill resigned rather than go through an investigation. If she really did nothing wrong, why not stand up for herself?

their spouse than their soon to be ex.

pressure was on her from other members or leaders of her caucus.

I get why she resigned, but it also makes me a little nauseated that a Democrat steps over a line and they must leave immediately, but there are, more often than not, no consequences whatsoever for Republicans no matter what they do.

who are wrong for expecting to get away with murder. If the Democrats were like the Republicans, I wouldn't want to be a Democrat, either.

it ends up only hurting us.

I get having standards, but it just seems to take players on our side out and increase the lengths they are willing to go to.

Also, this seems like her ex getting revenge, which is awful as well.

Again, I understand it. I accept that it is right, but that doesn't make it less frustrating to see it happen and to see that Democrats don't want to hear what has happened, they just want the person gone, never to be heard from again.

own, I really do. It is a weakness on our part which will be exploited by the GOP. She was probably forced out by the purity squad...same one that forced Franken out.

I can't understand the level of puritanism I encounter around here.

Next we will have a sex police or something.

and frame all relationships in terms of power dynamics.

relationships wasn't well understood. So, like most Democrats then, I was more focused on the fact that she was an adult and seemed willing. Even proud.

But the culture has moved on, and the regulations in the House now clearly prohibit Congresspeople from having sexual relationships with staffers. That wasn't the case in the Clinton era.

And Hill has chosen to resign. Nobody impeached her or forced her to resign.

go and will do it to every effective Democratic leader.

And Bill Clinton's impeachment? This is the way Pukes roll.

They'll just go to the "I accuse you of something horrible card," and the Dem will automatically be rocked back on their heels and bolt. Even if it's not true, just gumming things up and lying on someone works wonders.

Thank goodness Bill Clinton didn't let thuglicans run him out of the Oval Office because of an affair, especially when many of those accusing HIM of sexual misconduct were exposed and found to be participating in sexual misconduct themselves WHILE they were accusing HIM

How many male congresscritters have banged their staffers and are still in office?

doesn't cut a lot of ice with me. Things need to be looked at on a case by case basis of course. But if you're engaged in a clear violation of rules -- I'm really not interested in your representation. And I don't CARE what the other guys are doing.

(for the record, I'm not saying that ethics violations are, or have been, clearly established here .. but I think the resignation and quick exit more or less speak for themselves.)

And taking bong hits. It's sexual harassment. There is NO CONSENT when you have a boss-underling situation. It's ALWAYS harassment.

They would very clearly understand that the first rule is 'Never make tape.', just as a precaution.

Also, I dont care about the bongs hits. Its california, right, so perfectly legal for her to be doing that there.

I was a big admirer, and I wish her well in future in what I hope will be private work worthy of her talents and ideals.

But she betrayed not just those who voted for her but all of us. What happened when her behaviors became public, and that the Repubs would eventually find out and use them to attack us, was totally predictable.

Her own behavior as a congresswoman took her out. Not the pictures.

Hill's employee probably (I sincerely hope) earned his $5K bonus through performance of his official duties, but his employer's relationship with him raised a very reasonable question of possible corruption from that alone. Then there's the asymmetric power issue; as his employer, and as someone gaining big power in our party, she was in a position to make or destroy his career.

Of the ethical issues involved, there never was a question. For elected officials, presenting an appearance of significant impropriety, one that raises questions of genuine wrongdoing, is in itself unethical. And never more than in this era.

who grew up in and are still encased in bubbles. Bubble candidates. If Katie was a Republican she'd say it was between consenting adults and you can go fuck yourself. Then she'd go on to have a multi-decade career in Congress. What a shame. She's such an intelligent woman and a real fighter for her constituents. If only she was a nun . . . I guess. Gone for daring to be human.

having a consensual relationship with an adult partner somehow wrong are hypocrites in my opinion...and once more we dance to the tune of the GOP and give up a House seat...so damns stupid besides completely sexist towards women...so women who have sex and are the victims of revenge porn should lose their jobs? After all they are big sluts and all...

well into this year. That was not a relationship of equals.

demanded she do so are wrong.

but if I was a party leader (or even a plain old voter) I would have asked you to.

It's simple really. Professors should not sleep with students. Officers should not sleep with subordinates. Bosses should not sleep with employees. And politicians should not sleep with staffers. Every high school kid in the country knows these things are each wrong.

Hill was either blind to the ethical ramifications [hard to believe, she's 32, a woman, reasonably educated, and fairly bright] or frankly thought they didn't matter. At least for her. I have no problem asking for her resignation.

and the age gap further increased the power differential.

How many relationships have started in the workplace? Way too many.

business.

This relationship is prohibited. Sorry. It's sexual harrassment. She WAS a government employee. She knew the rules.

I worked for DoD for years. You don't get to fuck your subordinates you supervise.

Let them be.

consenting adults.

relationship with a subordinate.

This isn't a "scandal" by any stretch of the imagination.

But it is generally unethical to have sex with subordinates, even if it appears consensual.

Don't do it. Ever. We need to be smarter than this.

If the latter allegation is true that's a violation of explicit House rules.

A damn shame, but there it is.

Hopefully, she’ll get her life together.

It still boggles my brain that someone raised with the internet would allow naked pictures or pictures of smoking pot taken of them. Especially since she had political aspirations. Apparently the bong pic was taken before marijuana was legalized for recreational use in CA, which just gives the right more ammunition too.

I’ve got no problem with either of those things, but somehow I managed to live my entire life without pics of me in either position, though I’ve smoked pot and been naked lol.

I don’t get the Iron Cross tattoo either. No one would have seen it if she’d not allowed those pics to be taken.

It was a civil infraction when the photo was taken and now that it's legal in CA anybody who was convicted of marijuana possession when it wasn't can petition to have their records expunged.

As to the Iron Cross the ADL says it has to be viewed in context. Many non-racists sport them.

The problem is if she had an affair with a congressional staffer as opposed to a campaign staffer that's an explicit violation of House rules. Californians are largely a live and let live people though some districts are more live and let live live than others. Her constituents likely would have forgiven her, especially with the slut shaming aspect. The problem again is she might have violated House rules.

Just sad.

She threw away her political life.

She did not deserve this.

I would think someone with political aspirations would know better than to allow naked pics of themselves.

She’s the victim of revenge porn, but you’re blaming her???

A lot of couples like taking pictures in private settings, and there’s nothing wrong with that as long as it’s between consenting adults. Publishing those photos after a breakup is a horrible thing to do, and it’s not the victim’s fault.

As far as the consensual relationship goes, I agree it was poor judgement, but why did she get more pressure to resign than all of the men who did the exact same thing (or worse)?

The double standard is what angers me the most.

Poor judgement.

Nothing wrong necessarily with anything specifically she did, but it’s still poor judgement to date staffers and poor judgement to take sexual pics with them if one has political aspirations.

I say this as someone who was guilty of poor judgement in my younger days more times than I care to remember. Frequently, there are consequences.

I don’t see she got any pressure to resign. She chose to do so, which makes me wonder.

Big consequences, yes, but that's because she's falling from elected national office and being groomed for party leadership. Not from a position as a buyer for a shoe manufacturer, where maybe the junior she slept with and gave a bonus to would have been fired instead.

Apparently she didn't take seriously the ethics sessions that all incoming congressional freshmen sit through, but perhaps this will help others who'd otherwise be too lax in standards to take them seriously.

We did suffer a loss, too. I’m hopeful that we will recover from it.

I respect the fact that she probably wanted the ordeal to end. I probably would have resigned, as well, if I were in her shoes. With that said, she got a lot more pressure to resign than others (Duncan Hunter, in particular), and the unfairness really upsets me.

he deserves a beat down for the revenge porn.

If she would have renounced the flesh and taken to drink, like the other Congresspeople, she could have been Speaker one day.

That was funny!

And tooooooo true.

I know she was slut shamed too, but it's still an important rule that needs to be followed.

Happens all the time. Too much puritanism around here.

It's not puritanism, it's called not being stupid.

employees are capable of deciding what they want to do. If it really is threatening and harassing, handle it as that, but why a blanket prohibition? It takes peoples' freedom away just because of a few bad people.

destroy sexual freedom for women this way.

too many employers have taken advantage of their position to confer money, work assignments, and other benefits.

And the House voted for this rule. They were capable of deciding what their rules should be.

without having other people interfere with their happiness.

in that special way, because of a concern that their job might be at risk.

The only way to be sure of that is to ban intimate relationships between employers and their employees.

No one is forced to become a victim.

Adults should get to decide for themselves. What if Ms. Hill's campaign aide really likes her?

Want to have sex with your boss? Get a different job, or work for free.

That's even more absurd. There is nothing wrong and yet this person has to find another job. That's taking control everyone because of a few bad apples another step.

to keep or advance in their jobs.

Surely you're not going to deny that.

Should be not be encouraging that, or what good are the laws? If you feel pressured into sex, you should never do it, if you get fired for it, use the law to protect yourself. That is what we are going for, is it not?

there was a power differential,

A mere power differential does not mean adults should not be able to make their own choices. I save the outrage for where the person with more power who really tries to abuse it and encourage those victims to call them out, rather than give in and be a victim as if there is no other choice, otherwise, the laws are useless.

just fancies the employer? If it is not harassment, which is likely in most cases, why prohibited just because of the relatively few employers who might abuse it? And if they do, there are now laws and policies against the harassment. Plus becoming fewer and farther between as younger men - each generation becomes more enlightened.

close relationships with.

I worked in an office that was all family, and I didn't see them being "favored" in some way. The boss' kids both worked there. Not everyone does wrong automatically.

to the former campaign aid while Hill was in Congress. The payments were fees for "consulting."

Probably they were for real work, but how would we know?

We don't have to presume wrongdoing is what I'm saying.

“I think it’s unfortunate, the circumstances here, both personally and professionally, but the rules are there to ensure that no one inside Congress is above the law,” Amey said.


Where are the rules that indicate that no one inside the White House is above the law?

Of course rules and laws are just a collection of words on paper if no one enforces them.

It leads to sex abuse because the employee is subject to being fired if they displease their boss in bed.