Ethics

GOP Rep. Used Taxpayer Money for a Sexual Harassment Settlement

Written by SK Ashby

We already knew Representative Blake Farenthold (R-TX) is a super-freak (pictured above in the duck pajamas) but now we know he has used taxpayer dollars to settle a sexual harassment claim filed by a woman he fired.

Farenthold fired his former communications director after she complained that he got drunk and made lewd comments to her.

Lauren Greene, the Texas Republican’s former communications director, sued her boss in December 2014 over allegations of gender discrimination, sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment.

Greene claimed in the lawsuit that another Farenthold aide told her the lawmaker had “sexual fantasies” and “wet dreams” about Greene. She also claimed that Farenthold “regularly drank to excess” and told her in February 2014 that he was “estranged from his wife and had not had sex with her in years.”

Greene filed a federal lawsuit against Farenthold at the district court in Washington, but Farenthold settled with her using money from the mysterious House Office of Compliance.

Several members of Congress have now been accused of sexual harassment, but as far as we know Farenthold is the only sitting member of the House of Representatives who actually used taxpayer money to settle a claim. In this case, the Office of Compliance paid out $84,000 to settle.

If we're all being fair, Rep. Farenthold should resign alongside Rep. John Conyers.