Intoxicated or not, I wouldn't. Well, he isn't gay...
Posted on 01/22/2009 7:27:29 AM PST by Impy
Republican House member Brian Kelsey, who e-mailed an ethics complaint Wednesday afternoon to fellow House member Kent Williams, says he knew of sexual harassment complaints against Williams two years ago but declined to make them public out of respect for the alleged victim’s privacy.
After seeing Rep. Susan Lynn’s name published Tuesday, though, Kelsey says he decided to e-mail his complaint to Williams and the media, even though there is no formal Ethics Committee in place yet to process it.
But when Kelsey was asked if Lynn now approved of him bringing up the matter in the complaint, he replied, “I don’t know. You’d have to ask her that.”
Kelsey, R-Germantown, sent the complaint on Wednesday to Williams, speaker of Tennessee’s House of Representatives, asking for his removal from the leadership post after allegations of sexual harassment resurfaced yesterday.
Williams, R-Elizabethton, has been accused of making inappropriate and offensive comments to fellow lawmaker Lynn, R-Mount Juliet, in March and April 2007. At the time, the incidents were documented in a memo prepared by Jason Mumpower, R-Bristol, and filed away until yesterday.
Williams issued a flat denial, saying he had never sexually harassed anyone, nor had he been reprimanded for it.
But on Wednesday Kelsey called for House leaders of both parties, Gary Odom, D-Nashville, and Mumpower to appoint members of the Ethics Committee, instead of Williams.
“Certainly there needs to be a hearing and investigation into this matter,” Kelsey said Wednesday afternoon.
Williams has been the target of Republican ire since last Tuesday, when he won the House speakership over Mumpower last Tuesday by voting for himself and gaining the support of all 49 Democrats in the House. His own vote tipped him over Mumpower by one vote.
The surprise outcome enraged many Republicans and Tennessee party leadership, which has called him a liar and a traitor. Williams has sided with Democrats on some past issues and pledged he would strive for greater bipartisanship as speaker.
Kelsey, who confronted Williams verbally right after the election, maintains that not only do Williams’s alleged acts of sexual harassment breach the public trust, but so do his denials.
“Speaker Williams’ actions of sexual harassment were bad enough to begin with. Denying that the events ever occurred, in effect calling Representative Lynn a liar, is like spitting in the face of his victim,” Kelsey says. “Speaker Williams issued a false statement with the intent to deceive the public. This type of dishonesty to the people of Tennessee is totally unacceptable from the leader of the House of Representatives.”
The embattled speaker said Wednesday that he could not elaborate on details of the incidents to clear his name because his hands were tied by legislative confidentiality rules.
I wish this had come out and ruined his career back when it happened. But I guess Lynn didn't want the scandal?
Intoxicated or not, I wouldn't. Well, he isn't gay...
Lynn
Did Williams gives the rat ALL the chairmanships? And he still claims to be a Republican?
Al over the country Dem’s are pulling this manuever to elect liberal Rhino’s in in place of a true majority Representative.
It happened here in Texas as well.
Seriously, I hope the jerk gets what he deserves.
The legislature was sent home for a two week recess without traitor Williams making his chairmanship appointments. He stated that he would divide the appointments.
They did in Pennsylvania in 2007 as well. Even though they had a 1 seat rat majority their rat leader wasn’t popular enough to win the votes of his own caucus so they found a RINO. The gained seats and elected a rat to the post this year. The RINO voted for the Rat.
And of course it famously happened in California way back in 1995.
Thanks.
Pretty early to be taking a break already.
Great move against the speaker. Sounds like a move a dem would make.
I know her and she is a very nice lady. She isn’t unattractive, but she doesn’t trigger the “hot” button either. In any event she certainly isn’t the kind of person who would deliberately draw attention to her female assets. I cannot image what would provoke a person to make such a comment to her.
I’m certain I posted her picture, so did another guy.
How curious.
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