Grassley adviser resigns after sexual harassment accusation

A communications adviser to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, during the Supreme Court confirmation fight has abruptly resigned after an accusation of sexual harassment - an allegation he denies.

Garrett Ventry submitted his resignation Friday night, he said in a brief phone interview Saturday morning. He said he denies the allegation but stepped down “in order to not be a distraction” as Senate Republicans continue to work to get Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh confirmed.

“Garrett was one of several temporary staff brought on to assist in the committee’s consideration of the Supreme Court nomination, a team that has done outstanding work,” a committee spokesman said Saturday morning.

The resignation is another development in the chaos that has engulfed Kavanaugh’s confirmation fight. Christine Blasey Ford, a psychology professor in California, accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers in an interview with The Washington Post published this week.

Kavanaugh has categorically denied the allegation and says he wants to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the matter.

NBC News reported Saturday morning that it had been investigating Ventry’s employment history, including his tenure in the office of North Carolina House Majority Leader John Bell in 2017. According to the network, Ventry was let go from the office after a female GOP staff member in the North Carolina General Assembly accused him of sexual harassment. He had also been accused of embellishing his resume.

Before temporarily joining Grassley’s staff, Ventry worked at CRC Public Relations, a prominent public relations firm for conservative causes in Alexandria, Virginia, that represents influential legal groups on the right such as the Federalist Society and the Judicial Crisis Network.