Rep. Katie Hill (D-CA) admitted Wednesday to having had an affair with a staffer on her congressional campaign.
Her admission seemed to contradict her denial the day before of an affair with a male member of her congressional staff, though the admission Wednesday may concern a different, female staffer who worked on her campaign but not in her Capitol Hill office.
The House adopted new ethics rules this year (by voice vote, not roll call vote) banning romantic relationships between members of Congress and their staffers, in response to the #metoo movement.
Rep. Hill was elected in 2018 in California’s 25th congressional district as one of seven Democrats who unseated incumbent Republicans in the Golden State. She is vice chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. She also protested vigorously against the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court last year, calling Kavanaugh a “serial predator” after he faced several sudden uncorroborated accusations from female classmates.
In fact, Hill repeatedly made the fight against sexual harassment a central theme of her congressional campaign, arguing that electing more female leaders to Congress would be part of the solution to the ongoing problem.
Hill also participated in a nationwide “Believe Survivors” walkout in solidarity with Kavanaugh’s accusers.
Last Friday, the RedState blog published personal and intimate photographs and text messages that suggested “Rep. Hill was involved in a long-term sexual relationship with a female campaign staffer.” Rep. Hill and her estranged husband were reportedly involved in a relationship with the female staffer, before Rep. Hill allegedly broke off her relationships with both. According to RedState, she also allegedly became involved with a male Capitol Hill staffer.
Hill called the allegations part of a “smear campaign” and her supporters said she was a victim of “revenge porn.”
In a message to constituents, Hill said she was the victim of a crime and had asked Capitol Police to investigate.
Hill also agreed Wednesday to cooperate with an investigation by the House Ethics Committee over the allegations.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He earned an A.B. in Social Studies and Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard College, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.