Meehan won’t seek re-election
The downfall of Congressman Pat Meehan was swift.
Five days after The New York Times published an article claiming Meehan used taxpayer money to settle an exstaffer’s sexual harassment complaint, the Republican lawmaker announced he will not seek re-election to Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District.
The announcement came late Thursday and followed rallies earlier in the day outside Meehan’s Delaware County district offices, where protesters demanded Meehan resign.
Meehan, 62, has represented the 7th District since 2011 and was planning to see re-election to a fifth term when the newspaper published its story Jan. 20.
The embattled Congressman
attempted to quell the growing scandal with interviews, but his account of the relationship with the female staffer did not satisfy critics.
A spokesman for Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan says Meehan informed Ryan of his decision earlier on Thursday. After the story broke on Saturday, Ryan removed Meehan from the House Ethics Committee, which deals with allegations of misconduct among members of Congress.
The committee chairperson announced Meehan was under investigation.
Meehan is the fifth member of Congress to resign or abandon re-election amid a national reckoning over sexual misconduct in the workplace.
Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Val DiGiorgio said Meehan “made the right decision” for the voters of his district and for himself. DiGiorgio called it a “sad ending to what was an otherwise noteworthy career of a dedicated public servant leader.”
U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers, R-La., the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, thanked Meehan for his dedication, but said, “we must always hold ourselves to the highest possible standard — especially while serving in Congress.”
The former aide made the complaint last summer to the congressional Office of Compliance after Meehan became hostile toward her when she did not reciprocate his romantic interest in her, and she left the job, the Times reported.
The ex-staffer is three decades younger than Meehan, a married father of three. The settlement was secret under confidentiality provisions, and Meehan refuses to say how much taxpayer money was involved.
Meehan denies he did anything wrong and says he followed the advice of House lawyers and Ethics Committee guidance.
Meehan spoke publicly about allegations for the first time Tuesday, describing the longtime female staffer as a “soul mate” to whom he had admitted having “an affection” for and later writing her a letter wishing her well with a boyfriend.
“I never in any way made any kind of pass towards her, I never discussed anything about wanting any kind of a further relationship, she’s never alleged anything like that,” Meehan said.
The settlement — which Meehan characterized as a “severance” — was in the thousands of dollars, according to the Times story. That article indicated the aide filed a complaint with the congressional Office of Compliance after Meehan’s advances turned to workplace hostility.
Meehan acknowledged that he had lashed out when he discovered the woman had begun dating another man but he contended that he had done nothing wrong and had never sought a romantic relationship with her.
The accuser’s lawyer, Alexis Ronickher, called the allegations “well-grounded” and a “serious sexual harassment claim.”
Sources in the New York Times article said the woman was traumatized by the pushback from Meehan’s office and eventually left the country.
Meehan’s decision came as he faced calls from Democrats and rallies outside his district office demanding his resignation, and as Republicans began to lose confidence that Meehan could win re-election in the closely divided district in moderate southeastern Pennsylvania where Republicans fear an anti-Trump wave.
“Unfortunately, recent events concerning my office and the settlement of certain harassment allegations have become a major distraction,” he wrote in a letter to his campaign chairman. “I need to own it because it is my own conduct that fueled the matter.”
Meehan is a former Delaware County district attorney and former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern Pennsylvania District.
Pennsylvania’s 7th District includes portions of Delaware, Montgomery, Chester, Berks and Lancaster counties.
Six Democrats — Daylin Leach, Drew McGinty, Elizabeth Moro, Dan Muroff, Shelly Chauncey and Molly Sheehan — have announced plans to seek their party nomination in the 7th District. Two Republicans — Joe Billie and Sean Gale — have also announced. Now with Meehan not seeking re-election, the field could grow even bigger.