‘Two US reps engaged in sexual harassment’

WASHINGTON: Two US lawmakers stood accused of sexual harassment on Tuesday, including one who allegedly exposed himself to a young staffer, amid mounting concern over abuse on Capitol Hill.

With a broadening national spotlight on sexual misconduct in Hollywood, the media and politics, Congress has begun to address the accusations of abuse and demands by some 1,500 former staffers that comprehensive reforms be instituted.

The claims also come as conservative ex-judge Roy Moore, a candidate for US Senate, faces startling accusations by five women claiming he sexually assaulted or pursued them when they were teenagers.

House Democrat Jackie Speier ( pix), an advocate for an improved antiharassment system in Congress, said she was aware of two sitting congressmen, a Republican and a Democrat she did not name, who “have engaged in sexual harassment”.

“I have had numerous meetings and phone calls with staff members, both present and former, women and men, who have been subjected to this inexcusable and often times illegal behaviour,” she told the House Administration Committee.

She painted a picture of sexual predation on Capitol Hill, which included “victims having their private parts grabbed on the House floor”.

Her colleague, House Republican Barbara Comstock, told the panel of a young staffer who delivered documents to her lawmaker boss’s residence and was greeted by the congressman, who was wearing only a towel.

“At that point, he decided to expose himself. She left, and then she quit her job,” Comstock said.

“But that kind of situation – what are we doing here for women right now who are dealing with somebody like that?”

As for Moore, he has denied the claims against him, but his support among mainstream Republicans has plummeted a month before the special election. – AFP