Calls for Indiana AG to resign
INDIANAPOLIS» Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill faced calls to resign Tuesday after a leaked internal legislative memo detailed allegations that the Republican inappropriately touched four women at an Indianapolis bar, including a lawmaker who said he groped her even after she told him to “back off.”
In a statement, Hill lashed out, saying he has no plans to step down while calling an inquiry into the claims a “prejudicial investigation that is deeply troubling.”
But three prominent Indiana Democrats, including Senate minority leader Tim Lanane and party Chairman John Zody, said the claims were credible and called on Hill to resign.
“The office and duties of the attorney general call for the highest levels of ethics and unquestionable character and I believe Curtis Hill falls completely short of that standard,” said Lanane, of Anderson.
Democratic South Bend Rep. Ryan Dvorak, an attorney, said Hill’s actions could merit criminal charges, noting claims that Hill groped a lawmaker even after she had rebuffed him appear “to meet the elements for sexual battery.”
So far, no prominent Republicans have said Hill should resign. Indiana Republican Party Chairman Kyle Hupfer said the GOP has “zero tolerance for sexual harassment,” but he stopped short of calling on him to step down.
The Indianapolis Star on Monday was the first to report on the confidential eight-page memo detailing an investigation into the matter. The document, which was independently obtained by The Associated Press, was written by the law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister at the request of Indiana legislative leaders.
It presents a picture of a highly intoxicated Hill who was carousing during a party at a bar in the early morning hours of March 15.
The document, dated June 18, states that Hill’s alleged conduct toward the legislative employees may have been “inappropriate,” but was “likely not severe or pervasive enough to result in a hostile work environment.” However, the firm found that Hill’s conduct toward the lawmaker was “likely egregious enough to meet the threshold of “severe” under federal employment law.