House Blocks Release of Sexual Harassment Records

Well… come on everyone, act surprised.

Apparently the same people who write the rules the rest of us are supposed to follow aren’t too excited about applying those same rules to themselves.

Funny how that works. Rules for thee, not for me. And how did the brave champions of transparency from both the left and the right vote, you wonder?

Pretty much exactly how you expected.
The House voted 357–65 to reject a resolution from Nancy Mace that would have required the release of congressional sexual misconduct and harassment records.

Instead, Congress did what Congress does best: they filed it. Not “filed” as in organized and accessible more like filed under “F” for Forget this ever existed. Somewhere between File 13 and the drawer labeled “Do Not Touch.”

The proposal would have forced the House Ethics Committee to disclose reports involving misconduct cases including situations where lawmakers had relationships with their own subordinates.

You know… the kind of workplace behavior that would get most normal people fired before lunch.

In a joint statement, Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest and ranking member Mark DeSaulnier argued that releasing the records could discourage victims and witnesses from cooperating with investigations.

According to them, making interview excerpts and internal documents public could retraumatize victims and expose witnesses to retaliation.

Because apparently the magical black marker used for congressional redactions has a special feature:
it runs out of transparency long before it runs out of ink.

But look on the bright side they proved something today: Bipartisanship isn’t dead in Washington.

Democrats and Republicans can still come together… when it’s time to protect themselves 🔥