GOP Rep. Patrick Meehan, facing backlash after revelations that he settled a sexual harassment complaint brought by a former aide, announced his resignation Friday.
Mr. Meehan, who represents a suburban Philadelphia district, announced on his website:
“With the knowledge I would not be standing for another term, I have decided that stepping down now is in the interest of the constituents I have been honored to serve. I have stayed to fight for important priorities like fully funding our troops, increasing support for medical research and preserving promising clean energy solutions. And now that work is accomplished.
“While I do believe I would be exonerated of any wrongdoing, I also did not want to put my staff through the rigors of an Ethics Committee investigation and believed it was best for them to have a head start on new employment rather than being caught up in an inquiry. And since I have chosen to resign, the inquiry will not become a burden to taxpayers and committee staff.”
Mr. Meehan, 62, had already said he would not run again as the House Ethics Committee investigated the sexual harassment allegations and his use of taxpayer money to settle them.
Mr. Meehan, a father of three, had faced increasing pressure to step down after revelations that a former aide decades his junior had filed a complaint against him last summer, and that Mr. Meehan had used his congressional office fund to pay her thousands of dollars to settle it. She had accused him of making unwanted romantic overtures to her after he learned that she had developed a serious relationship with a man closer to her age. After the aide rebuffed Mr. Meehan, he became hostile, her complaint said.
Mr. Meehan denied harassing the aide. Instead, he told The New York Times that she “specifically invited” his intimate communications, which included conversations and a letter in which he professed his affection for her — calling her “a complete partner to me.”
Mr. Meehan, who had taken a leading role in fighting sexual harassment in Congress, had become increasingly politically isolated since the settlement was revealed.
The New York Times contributed
First Published: April 27, 2018, 6:08 p.m.
