Rep. Blake Farenthold, a Texas Republican who was facing an ethics investigation after using taxpayer funds to settle a sexual harassment claim from a former staffer, abruptly resigned his seat Friday.
Farenthold had announced in December that he would not seek reelection, but until Friday he appeared determined to serve out his fourth term in the House.
He said in a statement Friday that he had sent a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) resigning his seat effective at 5 p.m.
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In December, the House Ethics Committee said it would probe not only the allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation but also whether Farenthold might have lied or omitted facts while giving testimony to the panel, as well as whether he improperly used House resources to benefit his political campaign. Farenthold’s resignation brings that probe to an immediate end.
WaPo
Rep. Blake Farenthold announced Friday he would resign immediately from Congress, after an ethics inquiry was opened into allegations of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior from former staff members.
The Texas Republican had said he would not run for reelection, but he had previously resisted calls to step down.
“While I planned on serving out the remainder of my term in Congress, I know in my heart it’s time for me to move along and look for new ways to serve,” he said in a statement.
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"I want to be perfectly clear. The charges that were made are false," he said in a statement posted to Facebook in December. Farenthold did admit he "allowed a workplace culture to take root in my office that was too permissive and decidedly unprofessional."
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Lauren Greene, the former aide, said Farenthold told another staffer in the office that he had “sexual fantasies” and “wet dreams” about her — and that she could wear shirts that showed her nipples anytime she wanted.
Farenthold has denied the allegations, but he ultimately settled with Greene, who received $84,000 from a congressional fund dedicated to resolving workplace disputes.
The settlement included a confidentiality agreement barring Greene from talking about her accusations, but she later spoke with POLITICO about how she had been blackballed on Capitol Hill after coming forward.
Politico
And this:
...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.U.S. law enforcement agencies have seized the sex marketplace website Backpage.com as part of an enforcement action by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to a posting on the Backpage website on Friday.
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The Department of Justice will provide more information at 6 p.m. EDT (1000 GMT), according to the website posting, which said U.S. attorneys in Arizona and California, as well as the Justice Department’s section on child exploitation and obscenity and the California and Texas attorneys general had supported shutting down the website.
Lawmakers and enforcement officials have been working to crack down on the site, which is used primarily to sell sex and is the second largest classified ad service in the country after Craigslist.
Reuters
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