California Rep. Katie Hill slammed the “double standard” that women face when it comes to sexual misconduct allegations in her final floor speech as a congresswoman.
Hill announced that she would resign amid an ethics investigation into allegations that she had a sexual relationship with a congressional aide. Her resignation came after multiple nude photos of her were published online by a right-wing blogger who previously worked for Hill’s Republican opponents.
Hill, who is openly bisexual, admitted to having an “inappropriate” relationship with a female campaign aide but denied the relationship with a male congressional staffer.
Hill claimed that her “abusive” estranged husband, with whom she is currently in divorce proceedings, leaked the photos to humiliate her.
She said that she would resign to make the leaks stop.
“This I what needs to happen so that the good people who supported me will no longer be subjected to the pain inflicted by my abusive husband and the brutality of hateful political operatives who seem to happily provide a platform to a monster who is driving a smear campaign built around cyber exploitation,” she said in a statement.
Hill slams “misogyny,” “double standard”:
In her final House speech on Thursday, Hill delivered a fiery speech.
“I’m leaving because of a misogynistic culture that gleefully consumed my naked pictures, capitalized on my sexuality, and enabled my abusive ex to continue that abuse, this time with the entire country watching,” she said. “I'm leaving, but we have men who have been credibly accused of intentional acts of sexual violence and remain in boardrooms, on the Supreme Court, in this very body and, worst of all, in the Oval Office.”
“The forces of revenge by a bitter, jealous man, cyber exploitation and sexual shaming that target our gender and a large segment of society that fears and hates powerful women have combined to push a young woman out of power and say that she doesn't belong here,” she said.
"Yet a man, who brags about his sexual predation, who's had dozens of women come forward to accuse him of sexual assault, who pushes policies that are uniquely harmful to women, and who has filled the courts with judges who proudly rule to deprive women of the most fundamental rights to control their own bodies, sits in the highest office of the land today,” she added.
GOP Rep slams Dems for not defending Hill:
Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, who defended Hill on Twitter after the allegations first surfaced, slammed Democrats for not coming to Hill’s defense.
"This is an issue where a lot of millennials, I think sympathize with Katie Hill because a lot of young people who grew up with a smartphone in their hands took pictures, sent them, shared messages and materials that are now recoverable later in life," he told Fox News. "Katie Hill's problem is not with Donald Trump. I wish she had not lashed out at him. Her ire should be directed at her fellow Democrats.”
"I don't know why in the world the left wouldn't stand up for our colleague, our co-worker, when the only person complaining, the only aggrieved party was Katie Hill's ex, who was releasing information to try to ruin her life," Gaetz added. “I think that there is a dynamic on the left where they want to be able to weaponize the #MeToo movements so badly against Republicans that they're willing to sacrifice people like Katie Hill or Al Franken on the altar of political correctness so that they can preserve the sharpest dagger for Republicans that they don't like. I don't think these issues should be partisan in nature."
