Congressional Ethics Office Looks Sketchy - Chief Counsel Accused of Abusing Women, Position

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Tokyo Sand‏ @DHStokyo 50m50 minutes ago
Why isn't this bigger news? The chief counsel for the Congressional Ethics Office has allegedly abused women and his position. #metoo
http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/12/14/head-of-congressional-ethics-office-sued-for-abusing-position-accused-of-assaulting-women/amp/?__twitter_impression=true


A top congressional ethics official who oversees investigations into misconduct by lawmakers is accused in a federal lawsuit of verbally abusing and physically assaulting women and using his federal position to influence local law enforcement, according to a complaint filed in a federal court in Pennsylvania last month.

The ongoing lawsuit against Omar Ashmawy, staff director and chief counsel of the Office of Congressional Ethics, stems from his involvement in a late-night brawl in 2015 in Milford, Pennsylvania, and includes a range of allegations relating to his behavior that evening and in the following two-and-half years...

Ashmawy’s office sits at the center of multiple ongoing, high-profile congressional investigations. Its recent work includes a probe into California Republican Rep. Devin Nunes’s midnight trip to the White House in March. The investigation led to Nunes stepping down from the committee investigating Russian influence on the 2016 presidential election, according to Office of Congressional Ethics website and news reports. (Earlier this month, the full ethics committee cleared Nunes of misconduct.)

According to the website of the Office of Congressional Ethics, it has pursued investigations into Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) and Del. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), whose cases, like that of Conyers, began under Ashmawy and were referred to the ethics committee for further investigation. The New York Times this week reported that Republicans are citing a 2015 decision by the Office of Congressional Ethics clearing Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), who has also been accused of sexual harassment.


read more: http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/12/14/head-of-congressional-ethics-office-sued-for-abusing-position-accused-of-assaulting-women/amp/?__twitter_impression=true