A sitting House Democrat already under investigation over sexual relations with a congressional aide is now reportedly facing a new accusation, with a woman interviewed by congressional investigators alleging that Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., sexually harassed and assaulted her.
The woman’s attorneys are pushing back against Gomez’s characterization of his conduct as “consensual,” accusing the congressman of a “brazen” example of misconduct as the House Ethics Committee continues its investigation.
“We represent one of the women who was interviewed by the House Committee on Ethics about her experience of sexual harassment and assault by Representative Jimmy Gomez,” the attorneys said in a statement.
“Contrary to Representative Gomez’s assertion in his statement, his actions were not ‘consensual in nature’ with respect to our client,” they continued. “We fully expect that the House Committee on Ethics will come to the same conclusion in its investigation.”
Gomez acknowledged earlier this week that he had made “mistakes outside [his] marriage” after the House’s internal watchdog announced that it was investigating him for misconduct.
The California Democrat, however, maintained that his actions were consensual and did not violate either the law or House ethics rules.
“Although my actions were consensual in nature and haven’t violated the law or House Ethics rules, that doesn’t diminish the impact that these mistakes have made on those I care about the most,” Gomez said Monday in a statement.
The woman’s attorneys challenged that account Wednesday, describing the allegations against Gomez as “just the latest example of brazen sexual misconduct by a member of Congress.”
The lawyers also called on Congress to take action against lawmakers accused of targeting women who work on Capitol Hill.
“Congress must act to rein in its members who seem to believe that preying on young women working on Capitol Hill is one of the perks of their job,” the attorneys said.
They pledged to continue working with both their client and the House Ethics Committee as the investigation moves forward.
“We will continue to work with our client and with the House Committee on Ethics to ensure there is accountability for Representative Gomez and a safe path for any other survivors to come forward and share their experiences,” they said.
Gomez is the latest House lawmaker to face accusations involving improper relations with congressional staff.
His former ally, ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., saw his gubernatorial campaign derailed earlier this year amid rape allegations.
Republican Reps. Tony Gonzales of Texas and Chuck Edwards of North Carolina also dropped their re-election bids amid backlash stemming from sexual harassment accusations.
