Alcee Hastings Sexual Harassment Allegation Investigated By Ethics Panel

A congressional ethics panel is looking into claims that Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) sexually harassed one of his staff members, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The investigation comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by Winsome Packer alleging Hastings made repeated unwanted sexual advances and threatened her job when she refused him. Packer is being represented by the conservative legal group Judicial Watch.

Hastings called the claims "ludicrous."

"I have never sexually harassed anyone," the representative said in a statement sent to the AP. "In fact, I am insulted that these ludicrous allegations are being made against me... I will win this lawsuit."

Hastings gave a more vague response in a recent interview, according to the Journal.

"Quite frankly your source has as much or more information than I do and I would suggest you rely upon them," he said. "It would be impossible for me in a paragraph or a page or two or a tome or volumes one and two to help you understand the dynamics of these events. I'll leave it at that."

News of the investigation comes a week after former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) resigned following a scandal that erupted after he tweeted a lewd photo of himself.

In April, Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) resigned in the midst of an ethics probe looking into whether he made efforts to cover up an affair with a former staffer. A Senate ethics panel found that Ensign lied to the Federal Election Commission and violated campaign finance laws.

Comments

[dbrett480]

03:23 PM on 07/10/2011

Ethics panels mean nothing to Hastings. He accepted bribes as a judge and became elected to the House.

[Eris23Skidoo]

06:24 PM on 07/01/2011

I wonder how much Judicial Watch paid Packer to lie about her boss.

[danceswithdata]

11:16 PM on 06/25/2011

Ho, hum, anyone out there have anything new to talk about?

[BippyBellito]

03:21 PM on 06/25/2011

Is it me or does every Democrat politician have to resort to this type of deviant behavior to get sex?

[norkas]

11:39 AM on 06/25/2011

Politicians need to visit a school of mental behavior before taking official office.

This school will teach them how to behave while they are in office including working with females and how NOT to behave in a way would destroy their career.

if this is true another lowlife and this is not just a Republican or Democratic problem our politicians have and will continue behaving as lowlifes if they are not engaged with reality and what the voters want morally.

[jstrate]

10:50 PM on 06/24/2011

If the allegations are supported, it's quid pro quo sexual harassment, far worse than the hostile environment form. It's interesting that some members of Congress think that the rules that apply widely in the private sector are too bothersome or burdensome for them to pay attention to.

[maxom]

10:35 PM on 06/24/2011

That guy is so UGLY that the only wayhe could get any is by harrassment...if then!

[maxom]

10:33 PM on 06/24/2011

nancy I just read your comment fron 2 hrs. ago...I think I just fell in love with you!!

[TedEjr]

09:55 PM on 06/24/2011

Sexual harassment, from a legal perspective, is in the eye of the recipient. It does not have to be intended by the harasser, nor explicit. The perception of the harrased is what matters.

That being said, IMHO, the fact that this is being supported by Judicial Watch, does not give me the warm fuzzies.

According to the sparse info in this article, the woman filed a lawsuit. And she did not file a grievance with EEOC? Again, this sounds suspect. However, I will be the first to confess that I do not have all of the relevant facts.

[maxom]

10:37 PM on 06/24/2011

And you probably never will.

[NancyY]

05:02 PM on 06/25/2011

You have a problem with Judicial Watch? Okay.

I am wondering - did you ever read about the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas drama? That was a big shocker way back then. But, these things do happen. Sometimes a subordinate is attracted to a manager, or a manager is attracted to a subordinate, and it becomes a race to see who files complaints against whom first.

[TedEjr]

06:22 PM on 06/25/2011

Rhetorical question much?

I was going to respond to your post, but then I read it more closely, and realized that it is nothing more than an anecdotal rant. You are entitled to opinions, and rants, no matter how off topic they may be. However, I choose to debate well constructed and provable facts and logical statements. BTW, for the most part your post is a red herring with regard to what I posted.

Enjoy your rants.

[manntxs]

09:53 PM on 06/24/2011

"In 1988, the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives took up the case, and Hastings was impeached for bribery and perjury by a vote of 413-3. He was then convicted in 1989 by the United States Senate, becoming the sixth federal judge in the history of the United States to be removed from office by the Senate."

5 years later he was elected to Congress.

This is not a post saying he is guilty of these offenses. Just that I don't understand how an electorate puts someone with that recent history in office.

[onlyaquarterdelusional]

10:22 PM on 06/24/2011

Take a look at the Governor of Florida. He's the cherry on the cake.

[manntxs]

11:17 PM on 06/24/2011

We get what we deserve when we don't require character in our respresentatives. Apparently too many in this country don't get the representative thing. Or, they don't mind people of low character, among other things, being the face of their district. Perhaps they are voting in people that mirror their own values.

Unfortunately a lot of it is whether this person give me my entitlement.

[Eris23Skidoo]

06:27 PM on 07/01/2011

Take a look at Sen. Vitter from Louisiana. He was caught seeing a hooker and then reelected by the idiot republicans of Louisiana after republicans have made "family values" the center of their bankrupt philosophy.

[manntxs]

07:37 PM on 07/01/2011

No doubt that fit along these lines. But I would say this, if I had to vote between the two and it was strictly a difference in their offenses, they were the choice I had, I would vote for Vitter. I would rather trust a man who goes to a hooker than one who accepts bribes and commits perjury. Especially since Hastings was a judge. Personally though, I understand redemption but that takes a bit longer than these guys the short time between offense and election.

[AdmiralXizor]

09:17 PM on 06/24/2011

What do you expect from this guy. He's bad dude and proven himself corrupt: he's only the sixth federal judge in the history of the United States to be removed from office by the Senate!

That said, if Maxine Waters hasn't faced the Ethics Committee, then it'll be a while before Hastings has anything to worry about. I say let him hang out there - he's much more effective as a cautionary tale - as if we need more of them, but oh well...

[IlyaKralinsky]

08:17 PM on 06/24/2011

Does anyone know why this sort of behavior is disagreeable to the American public, or is it just something political opponents can use? Moreover, are some of the moral issues we're discussing today something that would have gotten a person completely kicked out forty years ago without discussion once discovered (I know -- they kept things quiet years ago)? Why are we more relaxed with some politicians ([cough]-Clinton-[cough]) when they have moral issues than others? There is a narcissistic sociopathy in a person who believes they should run the destinies of others, and so why do Americans act shocked when these people are caught in other sociopathic behaviors?

[lielib]

11:08 PM on 06/24/2011

We found that condoning stupid drunken asses, people sleeping in their puke and disrepect for women was for foreigners.

[AngryHarpy]

07:56 PM on 06/24/2011

Dang, people searching the Himalayas for signs of a Yeti should be searching in Florida.

[maxom]

10:39 PM on 06/24/2011

Right...before it goes underwater...then it will be looking for the Loch Ness Monster

[Susan Osterhout Troiano]

07:48 PM on 06/24/2011

Doesn't matter which party it is, it is time to clean up the Capitol Hill. It seems everyone has some sexual issues going on that they can't even focus on real issues. I am getting so sick and tired of all this corruption of any sort that I read every day. These people need to get out, and grow up and let some real people run this country. They all should be ashamed of themselves and look at the fine example they are projecting on our children. No one I have no trust in our government.

[TedEjr]

09:46 PM on 06/24/2011

If there are no laws broken, why should a person's personal sexual behaviour be of any concern to anyone? As long as they are not hypocritical, and espousing family values while eschewing them from their personal lives.

[ConservativeAmongWolves]

11:12 PM on 06/24/2011

I think Mr. Wiener's weiner escapades should disqualify him from holding public office. Clearly that behavior is a symptom of a troubled mind......should someone like that represent 700K+ people?

[maxom]

10:41 PM on 06/24/2011

F&F ... RIGHT ON!!!

[Jahnsart]

07:27 PM on 06/24/2011

The lust for power runs rampant in our elected officials...We expect people that chase after power to behave in a way that is an contrary to thier nature. This kind of behavior must be dealt with by removing them immediately...If they are found guilty that is, No matter which party or what their job is, we must have no tolerance for this egomanical behavior...