The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) unanimously thinks that House investigators should dismiss the sexual harassment inquiry into Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold.
“In its referral, OCE unanimously recommended that the Committee dismiss the matter, because OCE did not find substantial reason to believe that Representative Farenthold engaged in the alleged conduct,” according to a statement released Monday by the House Ethics Committee, which is investigating the matter.
Texas Rep. Farenthold was accused of sexual harassment by disgruntled former communications staffer Lauren Greene, who alleged that he made inappropriate jokes and told an inappropriate story in front of staffers. Farenthold’s office strongly defended him from the accusations.
“These allegations are also the subject of a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and currently pending in that court. Due to the ongoing nature of the lawsuit, the Committee has not yet been able to complete its review of the matter and therefore is not in a position to dismiss the matter at this time,” the Ethics Committee noted. “The Committee notes that the mere fact of conducting further review of a referral, and any mandatory disclosure of such further review, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee.”
A spokesperson for Farenthold told Breitbart News that the situation looks bright for the congressman.
“Congressman Farenthold understands the position that House Ethics is in and is certain that once the legal nature of this situation is resolved, they will reach the same findings and conclusions that the Office of Congressional Ethics has already unanimously reached,” the spokesperson said.