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PRESS

CREW Sends Complaint Against Rep. Mahoney to House Ethics Committee

Washington, DC – Today, in light of recent revelations about Rep. Tim Mahoney’s (D-FL) conduct both during and after an affair he began with a woman he met while running for Congress, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has sent a letter to the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, better known as the House Ethics Committee, asking for an investigation into the matter.

Although Rep. Mahoney has reportedly requested such an inquiry himself, CREW’s goal is to ensure that the Committee consider specific relevant provisions of House rules.

According to press reports, Rep. Mahoney was elected to Congress in 2006 and maintained a personal relationship with Patricia Allen during that time, hiring her to work on his personal staff, and later moving her to his campaign staff before terminating her after the affair ended. Ms. Allen threatened to sue Rep. Mahoney for alleged sexual harassment, intimidation and humiliation, but after mediation, he agreed to pay Ms. Allen and her attorney a total of $121,000. Ms. Allen also allegedly was promised a two-year position with a public relations firm, or $50,000 a year or another position if the original job offer fell through.

In return, Ms. Allen was required to sign a back-dated resignation letter to the campaign chairman, describing her departure as having “nothing to do with you, the Congressman, the campaign, or any conduct by anyone associated with your congressional office or campaign.”

Rep. Mahoney’s conduct implicates numerous House rules. First, the House Rule 23, clause 8 requires congressional employees to perform public duties commensurate with their compensation. Thus, hiring a staff member to facilitate a sexual relationship is impermissible.

Second, by conducting a sexual relationship with an employee he supervised, and by firing that employee after the affair ended, Rep. Mahoney may have engaged in sexual harassment in violation of House Rule 23, clause 9, which incorporates the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibiting employment discrimination.

Third, the Committee should investigate the $121,000 payment made to Ms. Allen. Given that Rep. Mahoney appears to personally have paid Ms. Allen to avoid a lawsuit against the campaign, the $121,000 constituted a contribution to his campaign. By failing to report his in-kind contribution to the campaign to pay Ms. Allen, Rep. Mahoney may have committed a criminal campaign finance law violation.

Finally, Rep. Mahoney’s conduct does not reflect creditably on the House.

Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW said today, “Rep. Mahoney engaged in a course of conduct demonstrating a stunning abuse of his elected position. He prioritized his extramarital affair over upholding the rules and laws he swore to obey. The House Ethics Committee must hold him accountable for his numerous transgressions.” Sloan continued, “And of course, Rep. Mahoney is the worst sort of hypocrite, having won the seat on a moral values platform after the Foley scandal. But if hypocrisy alone was enough to merit an ethics investigation, the ethics committee would be running a 24 hour-a-day shop.”