The campaign staffer who accused former congressional candidate Carl DeMaio of sexual harassment pleaded guilty to obstructing justice on Friday.
Todd Bosnich admitted to writing a fake threatening letter that he then claimed DeMaio had sent to him, according to federal prosecutors.
Although prosecutors said the letter allegation was unrelated to the sexual harassment allegations that Bosnich made against DeMaio in October 2014, the guilty plea could cast doubt on the veracity of the latter claims as well. DeMaio denied the sexual harassment charges at the time and accused Bosnich of breaking into and vandalizing his campaign headquarters.
DeMaio, a former San Diego city councilman, made waves as one of the first openly gay Republican congressional candidates when he ran for California’s 52nd Congressional District seat in 2014. He ultimately lost the election to incumbent Rep. Scott Peters (D) by a small margin.
DeMaio’s campaign was marred by the allegations against him. Just days before the election, a second staffer, Justin Harper, accused the candidate of exposing himself to Harper in a bathroom.
Bosnich is set to be sentenced on Aug. 31 in U.S. District Court in San Diego.
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