Aug. 18, 2026
The House Ethics Committee Is BUSY: Another Congressman Accused Of Sexual Misconduct
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RSS Feed Here we go again, as we add another congressman to a growling list of lawmakers accused of inappropriate sexual conduct. This time, it’s Democrat Jimmy Gomez from California, and while he admits to having made “mistakes outside his marriage” he insists he did not violate house ethics rules. He says this because, the “mistakes” he’s referring to occurred with a House staffer, just not HIS staffer. It’s a loophole in the ethics rules, but the committee is looking into whether the incidents were consensual or unwelcome.
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00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey, the folks, it is Tuesday, August eighteenth, and I know members of Congress get a bad rap. Sometimes people say they don't do any work. Well, don't say that about the House Ethics Committee, which is once again investigating another member of Congress. You can probably already guess for what. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. I should just say off the top here the inappropriate sexual contact is what's being investigated, and so people don't have to guess too long.
00:00:33
Speaker 2: But here we go again, ropes.
00:00:35
Speaker 3: I mean, this is actually an epidemic.
00:00:37
Speaker 4: And look, I mean maybe I'm just a jaded onlooker, but even going back to when I worked in DC, God, I don't know what was that thirty years ago, almost twenty something years ago.
00:00:50
Speaker 3: These stories are as old as time.
00:00:53
Speaker 4: Congressmen dallying with staffers other staffers in turns, this is been going on forever. But it does feel like, or at least it seemed as if we were shifting and there was an acknowledgment of what was happening, and there were repercussions for what was happening. So clearly Congressman would get the memo that you can't act like that anymore. However, one right after the other, they're dropping like flies.
00:01:23
Speaker 1: And we don't know how far this one might drop, because you're going to really be interested to hear his defense of what this is, and you will also be interested to hear of who he was once a campaign chair. For this story, robes A has a bunch of legs to it. But yes, the House Ethics Committee is once again investigating one of its own. This one happens to be Congressman from California, Jimmy Gomez, fifty one years old from the thirty fourth district, Democrat out of California. This is in the LA area. He's been in Congressmance twenty seventeen. He actually, robes got elected in a special election when Xavier Berrera left to become the Attorney General of the state, so he got in that way, but he's continued to be reelected, been out there since twenty seventeen. Now, rob he's served before that in the state Assembly. This new investigation that has been launched has to do with allegations of I guess is misconduct the right word. I'm not sure if that's the word they used, but the suggestion is that he was involved with somebody that works for Congress. The question robes is whether that person qualifies as someone he should not have had any type of sexual contact with.
00:02:44
Speaker 2: Is that right?
00:02:44
Speaker 4: Yes, because it was a house staffer, not necessarily on his staff.
00:02:49
Speaker 2: Isn't that a weird little nuance.
00:02:51
Speaker 3: But it's a house the rules staffer.
00:02:54
Speaker 1: Yes, the rules say you can't mess around with your own people, but you can with somebody else on another the staff.
00:03:00
Speaker 4: That seems like that's a major problem. And look, they're working on it right in Congress to maybe amend some of that strange, very specific language.
00:03:12
Speaker 2: They probably will.
00:03:13
Speaker 4: I believe they should, and I do think if at any point it could happen, it would possibly happen because of this case. Yes, because Congressman Gomez. Look, he's not denying this, he has admitted this and will get into his statement in a moment. But this all came out this past spring when a tabloid reported that he kissed a staffer, not a member of his own staff, but yes, a house staffer.
00:03:40
Speaker 1: Now, at the time, he pushed back on all the reports of just tableaud reports, but he eventually then put out a statement in which he did he did admit robes that he had an inappropriate He is no excuse me mistakes, he said, he's made mistakes in his past, and he's apologized to his wife. He said that at the time. But now here we go, there's an official House investigation of this guy. So this takes it now to a whole new level. The Committee did make an announcement here explaining robes. If you have it in front of you, explaining it. Yeah, they were very short announcement, but saying yeah, this is official now.
00:04:17
Speaker 4: Yeah, they're getting used to it. They're able to actually like you know, their statements. Yeah, just to keep it quick because yeah, here we go again. The Committee, pursuant to Committee Rule eighteen A, is reviewing allegations that Representative Jimmy Gomez may have engaged in sexual misconduct in violation of the Code of Official Conduct or any other applicable standard of conduct, including engaging in inappropriate sexual contact with a House staffer in violation of Clause eighteen B of the Code. The Committee notes that the mere fact that it is investigating these allegations and publicly disclosing its review does not itself indicate that any VIO has occurred. No other public comment will be made on this matter except in accordance with Committee rules.
00:05:06
Speaker 2: ROAs.
00:05:07
Speaker 1: That is so interesting, you know, I will go look up a piece of legislation and I will look up Code of Conduct Section eighteen B. It's interesting what it says. It says that a member of the House may not engage in unwelcome sexual advances or conduct towards another member, delegate, resident, commissioned officer, or employee unwelcome.
00:05:34
Speaker 4: That's different, yes, because we'll get into go him as a statement, but he's basically said that anything that happened, any mistakes he made outside of his marriage, were consensual. So if we're hearing that they are investigating whether or not it was unwelcome, that is now something that could potentially be criminal, not just something that is an event or a behavior that Congress should investigate. That insinuate something that is, yes, beyond that.
00:06:09
Speaker 1: And this guy we are talking about Robes. You can't make this stuff up. Congressman Gomez was once the chair of the campaign of Eric Swalwell, who has resigned from Congress this year under numerous allegations of sexual misconduct. He was at one point the chair of the campaign and interesting to hear the words he had to say after Swalwell's allegations became public.
00:06:37
Speaker 4: Babe, this is crazy. And by the way, Eric Swawell is being criminally investigated now. So they began as allegations just that forced him out of a position, but now he is yes being investigated criminally by at least two different police jurisdictions I believe.
00:06:53
Speaker 3: So this is shocking.
00:06:55
Speaker 4: This is what Gomez had to say after all of the Walwell revelations came to light today. I learned shocking information about Eric Swalwell, containing the ugliest and most serious accusations imaginable. My involvement in any campaign begins and ends with trust. I am stepping down from it, effective immediately. The congressman should leave the race now so there can be full accountability without doubt, distraction, or delay. He dropped him like a hot potato.
00:07:31
Speaker 1: I mean, I mean, the allegations at least as far as we know right now ropes and Gomez believes what he believes and didn't do anything wrong, then that is fine. But the standard at the time was not let's wait and see what comes of the investigation.
00:07:46
Speaker 3: Funny, when you live in a glass house, you shouldn't throw stones. Didn't we learn that in the Bible.
00:07:51
Speaker 1: That's just you cannot make this stuff up. He is under a House Ethics investigation. The guy who was the chair of the campaign of Eric swam.
00:08:00
Speaker 3: Who threw him under the bus and said, I can't be a part of this, all the while knowing if it's true, he had some issues of his own.
00:08:12
Speaker 1: To your point, Robes earlier, he's already said, let's get into his statement here. Now, this is now Congressman Gomez a statement, Robes, and this is the one he has put out in response to the Ethics Committee announcing they do have an investigation, and it's.
00:08:29
Speaker 2: Kind of a long one. But some of this we need to We're going to need to talk through.
00:08:33
Speaker 4: Yes, so he said, as I said when the existence of an inquiry was first reported two months ago in the media, years ago. I made personal mistakes outside my marriage.
00:08:47
Speaker 3: That's plural, by the.
00:08:48
Speaker 1: Way, personal mistakes. I made a personal mistake, personal mistakes. Yes, that could suggest of an affair or several or that could is he just saying I made a mistake by kissing the same woman on this occasion and on that occasion, on that occasion, it leaves a lot for interpretation.
00:09:08
Speaker 4: The plural mistakes is interesting because he's only being accused right now of one thing. But okay, I made personal mistakes outside my marriage. Although my actions were consensual in nature ding ding ding ding ding, and haven't violated the law or house ethics rules, that doesn't diminish the impact that these mistakes have made on those I care about the most. I take full responsibility and have committed myself to working through the pain privately with my wife and family.
00:09:38
Speaker 2: That's the part. I'll give you that.
00:09:40
Speaker 1: And if the wife of the family, if they are working through that, I think that is okay. I don't want to condemn the guy if he hasn't broken a law, when a wife, when a family is working on it. I think, though Robes, I need to hear from her instead of him kind of a thing. I think I would feel better about it. He would give me permission to say we are working on this, and I would go okay.
00:10:05
Speaker 4: But the issue for me would be is he telling her the truth? Is he telling her the whole story? And what does this other woman who has now been deemed a mistake, what does she have to say about the relationship. I think there's a lot unknown.
00:10:20
Speaker 1: So for anybody to I guess start to feel better about that Robes in this whole situation, he's the wrong spolksperson.
00:10:26
Speaker 3: I spoke correct, correct.
00:10:28
Speaker 4: So he went on to say, I sought professional assistants to help recenter and heal my relationships. I guess that's AKA therapy and move forward with honesty, transparency, and respect. I continue to do this work. I have and continue to sincerely apologize to my family, friends, and the people that I have had the privilege to serve. I am deeply sorry to my wife for the pain and embarrassment that I have brought into our lives. Her sacrifices and support are central to my ability to serve, and I can only feel gratitude for her grace and strength. And then he said, I appreciate the Committee's statement that the existence of an inquiry doesn't itself indicate that any violation occurred.
00:11:09
Speaker 3: I respect the Committee's process.
00:11:11
Speaker 4: And am confident that a full and impartial review of the facts will bear that out. I stand ready to cooperate with the Ethics Committee inquiry and provide it with whatever information it might need. Out of respect for my family and the ongoing process. I will have no further comment.
00:11:29
Speaker 1: And here we are, I mean ropes, I don't what do you do? What does one do? And I often just defer to the voters of his district. You will do with him what you want to. It's not who are Who's anybody to say? We just don't know? And I just hate when these things get going. Yeah, he's the one that's saying he did wrong. He is the one who is taking responsibility for whatever. He shouldn't be applauded for that. That's not what I am saying at all. But how far does the pun may go?
00:12:01
Speaker 4: I think it depends on if it was a crime, and I say that figuratively and literally, and there's a lot we don't know yet. And maybe it was nothing and it was consensual and it was just he stepped out on his marriage. He's already repaired the damage done and he would like to move on. And I think that's a fair ask as long as this staffer feels like that is in fact what actually happened.
00:12:25
Speaker 1: And someone robes needs to and I guess they will. But this is a bizarre loophole, Like you, everybody on Capitol Hill is fair gain for you to date as long as they don't work in your office.
00:12:38
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I guess the idea behind that is you don't have direct control over that person's position or job, whether they're fired or if they're given some sort of you know, a leg up, because yes, of extracurricular activities, so promotions, firings, there's no ability for or that person to directly impact the other person's career, so to speak.
00:13:05
Speaker 3: But is that true?
00:13:06
Speaker 2: Thank you? I was so. I was sitting there waiting on you.
00:13:09
Speaker 4: To get get there, and I was planning to head there. Because you can say that technically, but let's just all acknowledge that rumors and whispers and deals in hey, can you will you buddies talking to buddies?
00:13:26
Speaker 3: No, this you.
00:13:27
Speaker 4: Absolutely, I think it's fair to assume that a powerful member of Congress can still have an impact on anyone's staff member and their career and how they're viewed and what may happen to them in their career based on a.
00:13:44
Speaker 3: Relationship. Absolutely, you have what power?
00:13:48
Speaker 1: Young hungry, desperate, ambitious staffers running thousands of them, probably running around in congresses elbow to ebel with the most powerful people in our country. To say, well, just don't mess around with these ten on your staff and the other thousand.
00:14:12
Speaker 2: You're good, they're probably gonna have to change it.
00:14:14
Speaker 4: Absolutely, think about it as a workplace environment. Just because you're not under you know, my team, doesn't mean I still can't have an impact and I still can't use my power to get what I want. This is an imbalance of power, period. These aren't two co workers who are at the same level. This isn't a congressman with a congresswoman having an affair outside of their marriages. That is not what this is.
00:14:38
Speaker 1: So though, and again, they made some of these changes to the Code Conduct after twenty seventeen or eighteen with the.
00:14:43
Speaker 4: Around me two yes me too movement, but looks like there's still some more work to be done on that language.
00:14:49
Speaker 1: Uh well, yes, stay here, folks, We will remind you just how busy the House Ethics Committee has been and will continue to be.
00:15:07
Speaker 3: Welcome back to Amy and TJ.
00:15:10
Speaker 4: It's a mess in Congress, and as we pointed out, the House Ethics Committee has been very busy as of late. This has been an exceptionally busy season for them as they have been investigating plenty of lawmakers, and most of them have ultimately they put up a fight initially, but most of them have relented, dropped out, walked away, with the exception of Max Miller.
00:15:36
Speaker 3: But we got a list of men just.
00:15:38
Speaker 4: In recent months who have faced similar accusations and have denied, denied, denied, until they eventually just say.
00:15:48
Speaker 1: Uncle, yeahn resign, resigned. Swallwell, I guess he and Tony Gonzalez out of Texas were happening around the same time, weren't they, And these were two extraordinary cases. One didn't involve criminal activity, that's the Gonzales one, but it involved the death of a woman.
00:16:05
Speaker 4: I was just going to say, yes, he hasn't been charged with the crime, he isn't facing any criminal charges, but I believe her husband, her late husband, or excuse me, his wife who died by suicide after this relationship with Tony Gonzalez, certainly would like to see something. He believes that Tony Gonzalez is responsible in part for his wife's death. He hasn't been held criminally accountable for any of it, but certainly it eventually had him step down from his position.
00:16:34
Speaker 1: And to make sure that's clear, he's not responsible for playing a hand in some way physically in her death. She is believed to have died by suicide. However, the suggestion there were open some of the text messages and things that came out. This was such a strain on her, her life, her husband.
00:16:51
Speaker 4: She was a young mother, young mother, yes, and so yes, her husband has absolutely been incredibly vocal in his feelings about Tony Gonzalez and his role in the emotional part that led to his wife's untimely death.
00:17:05
Speaker 3: Then Eric Swalwell, as.
00:17:07
Speaker 4: We mentioned, is actually being investigated, I believe, in both LA and New York from accusations from several women who have stepped forward saying that they were sexually assaulted by him.
00:17:19
Speaker 1: And this is your guy who was on the verge of being the next governor of California potentially, So.
00:17:24
Speaker 4: It was a significant and landscape shifting accusation. And now, yes, he may his freedom is at stake at this point, don't know about that. We continue to monitor, but they take their time, especially in a case like this, to make sure they have what they need if they're going to go forward with any kind of criminal accusations. And then there's Chuck Edwards who just dropped his bid as well, following similar accusations the.
00:17:49
Speaker 1: Mid sixties, isn't he I think he's mid sixties, but accusations that he of sexual harassment. He gave a little too much attention to a couple of young staffers, gifts and things that he gave over time, comments that he was making, even taking them out nights out here and there making. Yeah, this all put together in a very creepy way where it seemed like he was trying to impress these women or trying to court them.
00:18:13
Speaker 4: It definitely seemed like a according situation, Yes, lavishing them with trips and gifts and private time that they didn't really want, and getting upset when they brought a date to an event. It was very creepy, it was very unprofessional, and ultimately, when all of that started to come out and these two young women documented what they went through, he ended up. It was too much politically for him to survive that. And then Max Miller, who has opted to fight on. He will be on the ballots in November as he tries to get reelected.
00:18:47
Speaker 3: It would be for his third term.
00:18:48
Speaker 4: I believe, despite some pretty damning accusations by his ex wife and two other women of domestic violence. His former father in law is a senator and he has been very outspoken as of late about his thoughts on Max Miller. Doesn't think he is fit to be a member of Congress, so he's being investigated now. But interestingly, Max Miller himself asked for the investigation. That was a little twist in this.
00:19:12
Speaker 1: Maybe maybe a pr move to say, hey, I would like my name to be cleared and if hey, if he doesn't think he's done anything wrong, then more power to you. But those accusations, those things are stacking. Does a really ugly back and forth, and a two year old child is involved in that, so well, it was like, should this be a sign that the system is working, that maybe that they're getting the bad ones out, that we are active, that we see it, that we are holding our own accountable, that were not sleep sweeping the stuff under the rug. Your dad always says anytime your dad microbiologists who worked in food safety his whole career, I'm like, dude, what the hell's going on?
00:19:51
Speaker 2: We can't eat anything. We keep having these outbreaks.
00:19:54
Speaker 1: He said that it's showing you that the system's working, that it's catching the things it's supposed to catching keeping it from get worse out there in the community. Yes, I just incorporated your dad into a story about Gomez, But that is what I think of. Is that possible, Babe, that they are doing their work, that they are doing a good job, and they are trying to get these folks out.
00:20:16
Speaker 4: You know, I hadn't thought of it that way, but I actually think that's a really good way to look at it, because when I started at the top, this is the worst kept secret in DC. Everyone knows what goes on, or had been going on, I should say, at least, it seemed like it was just something that people did sweep under the rug and whispered about and complained about privately to each other, but no one ever did anything actually about it. And now we are seeing the House Ethics Committee doing something about it, calling folks out, investigating claims like these, and women who have suffered silently for decades, I would argue, are now finally being heard and listened to, and that is a good thing.
00:20:58
Speaker 1: Maybe some positiveness, but here we go again, Uh, they are investigating Gomans. We there's one more to keep an eye on with it. How s Ethics Committee certainly shouldn't be taken a day off folks. As always, we appreciate you spending a little sign with us. I'm TJ. That's Robes. We'll talk to
00:21:16
Speaker 3: H
Speaker 1: Hey, the folks, it is Tuesday, August eighteenth, and I know members of Congress get a bad rap. Sometimes people say they don't do any work. Well, don't say that about the House Ethics Committee, which is once again investigating another member of Congress. You can probably already guess for what. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. I should just say off the top here the inappropriate sexual contact is what's being investigated, and so people don't have to guess too long.
00:00:33
Speaker 2: But here we go again, ropes.
00:00:35
Speaker 3: I mean, this is actually an epidemic.
00:00:37
Speaker 4: And look, I mean maybe I'm just a jaded onlooker, but even going back to when I worked in DC, God, I don't know what was that thirty years ago, almost twenty something years ago.
00:00:50
Speaker 3: These stories are as old as time.
00:00:53
Speaker 4: Congressmen dallying with staffers other staffers in turns, this is been going on forever. But it does feel like, or at least it seemed as if we were shifting and there was an acknowledgment of what was happening, and there were repercussions for what was happening. So clearly Congressman would get the memo that you can't act like that anymore. However, one right after the other, they're dropping like flies.
00:01:23
Speaker 1: And we don't know how far this one might drop, because you're going to really be interested to hear his defense of what this is, and you will also be interested to hear of who he was once a campaign chair. For this story, robes A has a bunch of legs to it. But yes, the House Ethics Committee is once again investigating one of its own. This one happens to be Congressman from California, Jimmy Gomez, fifty one years old from the thirty fourth district, Democrat out of California. This is in the LA area. He's been in Congressmance twenty seventeen. He actually, robes got elected in a special election when Xavier Berrera left to become the Attorney General of the state, so he got in that way, but he's continued to be reelected, been out there since twenty seventeen. Now, rob he's served before that in the state Assembly. This new investigation that has been launched has to do with allegations of I guess is misconduct the right word. I'm not sure if that's the word they used, but the suggestion is that he was involved with somebody that works for Congress. The question robes is whether that person qualifies as someone he should not have had any type of sexual contact with.
00:02:44
Speaker 2: Is that right?
00:02:44
Speaker 4: Yes, because it was a house staffer, not necessarily on his staff.
00:02:49
Speaker 2: Isn't that a weird little nuance.
00:02:51
Speaker 3: But it's a house the rules staffer.
00:02:54
Speaker 1: Yes, the rules say you can't mess around with your own people, but you can with somebody else on another the staff.
00:03:00
Speaker 4: That seems like that's a major problem. And look, they're working on it right in Congress to maybe amend some of that strange, very specific language.
00:03:12
Speaker 2: They probably will.
00:03:13
Speaker 4: I believe they should, and I do think if at any point it could happen, it would possibly happen because of this case. Yes, because Congressman Gomez. Look, he's not denying this, he has admitted this and will get into his statement in a moment. But this all came out this past spring when a tabloid reported that he kissed a staffer, not a member of his own staff, but yes, a house staffer.
00:03:40
Speaker 1: Now, at the time, he pushed back on all the reports of just tableaud reports, but he eventually then put out a statement in which he did he did admit robes that he had an inappropriate He is no excuse me mistakes, he said, he's made mistakes in his past, and he's apologized to his wife. He said that at the time. But now here we go, there's an official House investigation of this guy. So this takes it now to a whole new level. The Committee did make an announcement here explaining robes. If you have it in front of you, explaining it. Yeah, they were very short announcement, but saying yeah, this is official now.
00:04:17
Speaker 4: Yeah, they're getting used to it. They're able to actually like you know, their statements. Yeah, just to keep it quick because yeah, here we go again. The Committee, pursuant to Committee Rule eighteen A, is reviewing allegations that Representative Jimmy Gomez may have engaged in sexual misconduct in violation of the Code of Official Conduct or any other applicable standard of conduct, including engaging in inappropriate sexual contact with a House staffer in violation of Clause eighteen B of the Code. The Committee notes that the mere fact that it is investigating these allegations and publicly disclosing its review does not itself indicate that any VIO has occurred. No other public comment will be made on this matter except in accordance with Committee rules.
00:05:06
Speaker 2: ROAs.
00:05:07
Speaker 1: That is so interesting, you know, I will go look up a piece of legislation and I will look up Code of Conduct Section eighteen B. It's interesting what it says. It says that a member of the House may not engage in unwelcome sexual advances or conduct towards another member, delegate, resident, commissioned officer, or employee unwelcome.
00:05:34
Speaker 4: That's different, yes, because we'll get into go him as a statement, but he's basically said that anything that happened, any mistakes he made outside of his marriage, were consensual. So if we're hearing that they are investigating whether or not it was unwelcome, that is now something that could potentially be criminal, not just something that is an event or a behavior that Congress should investigate. That insinuate something that is, yes, beyond that.
00:06:09
Speaker 1: And this guy we are talking about Robes. You can't make this stuff up. Congressman Gomez was once the chair of the campaign of Eric Swalwell, who has resigned from Congress this year under numerous allegations of sexual misconduct. He was at one point the chair of the campaign and interesting to hear the words he had to say after Swalwell's allegations became public.
00:06:37
Speaker 4: Babe, this is crazy. And by the way, Eric Swawell is being criminally investigated now. So they began as allegations just that forced him out of a position, but now he is yes being investigated criminally by at least two different police jurisdictions I believe.
00:06:53
Speaker 3: So this is shocking.
00:06:55
Speaker 4: This is what Gomez had to say after all of the Walwell revelations came to light today. I learned shocking information about Eric Swalwell, containing the ugliest and most serious accusations imaginable. My involvement in any campaign begins and ends with trust. I am stepping down from it, effective immediately. The congressman should leave the race now so there can be full accountability without doubt, distraction, or delay. He dropped him like a hot potato.
00:07:31
Speaker 1: I mean, I mean, the allegations at least as far as we know right now ropes and Gomez believes what he believes and didn't do anything wrong, then that is fine. But the standard at the time was not let's wait and see what comes of the investigation.
00:07:46
Speaker 3: Funny, when you live in a glass house, you shouldn't throw stones. Didn't we learn that in the Bible.
00:07:51
Speaker 1: That's just you cannot make this stuff up. He is under a House Ethics investigation. The guy who was the chair of the campaign of Eric swam.
00:08:00
Speaker 3: Who threw him under the bus and said, I can't be a part of this, all the while knowing if it's true, he had some issues of his own.
00:08:12
Speaker 1: To your point, Robes earlier, he's already said, let's get into his statement here. Now, this is now Congressman Gomez a statement, Robes, and this is the one he has put out in response to the Ethics Committee announcing they do have an investigation, and it's.
00:08:29
Speaker 2: Kind of a long one. But some of this we need to We're going to need to talk through.
00:08:33
Speaker 4: Yes, so he said, as I said when the existence of an inquiry was first reported two months ago in the media, years ago. I made personal mistakes outside my marriage.
00:08:47
Speaker 3: That's plural, by the.
00:08:48
Speaker 1: Way, personal mistakes. I made a personal mistake, personal mistakes. Yes, that could suggest of an affair or several or that could is he just saying I made a mistake by kissing the same woman on this occasion and on that occasion, on that occasion, it leaves a lot for interpretation.
00:09:08
Speaker 4: The plural mistakes is interesting because he's only being accused right now of one thing. But okay, I made personal mistakes outside my marriage. Although my actions were consensual in nature ding ding ding ding ding, and haven't violated the law or house ethics rules, that doesn't diminish the impact that these mistakes have made on those I care about the most. I take full responsibility and have committed myself to working through the pain privately with my wife and family.
00:09:38
Speaker 2: That's the part. I'll give you that.
00:09:40
Speaker 1: And if the wife of the family, if they are working through that, I think that is okay. I don't want to condemn the guy if he hasn't broken a law, when a wife, when a family is working on it. I think, though Robes, I need to hear from her instead of him kind of a thing. I think I would feel better about it. He would give me permission to say we are working on this, and I would go okay.
00:10:05
Speaker 4: But the issue for me would be is he telling her the truth? Is he telling her the whole story? And what does this other woman who has now been deemed a mistake, what does she have to say about the relationship. I think there's a lot unknown.
00:10:20
Speaker 1: So for anybody to I guess start to feel better about that Robes in this whole situation, he's the wrong spolksperson.
00:10:26
Speaker 3: I spoke correct, correct.
00:10:28
Speaker 4: So he went on to say, I sought professional assistants to help recenter and heal my relationships. I guess that's AKA therapy and move forward with honesty, transparency, and respect. I continue to do this work. I have and continue to sincerely apologize to my family, friends, and the people that I have had the privilege to serve. I am deeply sorry to my wife for the pain and embarrassment that I have brought into our lives. Her sacrifices and support are central to my ability to serve, and I can only feel gratitude for her grace and strength. And then he said, I appreciate the Committee's statement that the existence of an inquiry doesn't itself indicate that any violation occurred.
00:11:09
Speaker 3: I respect the Committee's process.
00:11:11
Speaker 4: And am confident that a full and impartial review of the facts will bear that out. I stand ready to cooperate with the Ethics Committee inquiry and provide it with whatever information it might need. Out of respect for my family and the ongoing process. I will have no further comment.
00:11:29
Speaker 1: And here we are, I mean ropes, I don't what do you do? What does one do? And I often just defer to the voters of his district. You will do with him what you want to. It's not who are Who's anybody to say? We just don't know? And I just hate when these things get going. Yeah, he's the one that's saying he did wrong. He is the one who is taking responsibility for whatever. He shouldn't be applauded for that. That's not what I am saying at all. But how far does the pun may go?
00:12:01
Speaker 4: I think it depends on if it was a crime, and I say that figuratively and literally, and there's a lot we don't know yet. And maybe it was nothing and it was consensual and it was just he stepped out on his marriage. He's already repaired the damage done and he would like to move on. And I think that's a fair ask as long as this staffer feels like that is in fact what actually happened.
00:12:25
Speaker 1: And someone robes needs to and I guess they will. But this is a bizarre loophole, Like you, everybody on Capitol Hill is fair gain for you to date as long as they don't work in your office.
00:12:38
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I guess the idea behind that is you don't have direct control over that person's position or job, whether they're fired or if they're given some sort of you know, a leg up, because yes, of extracurricular activities, so promotions, firings, there's no ability for or that person to directly impact the other person's career, so to speak.
00:13:05
Speaker 3: But is that true?
00:13:06
Speaker 2: Thank you? I was so. I was sitting there waiting on you.
00:13:09
Speaker 4: To get get there, and I was planning to head there. Because you can say that technically, but let's just all acknowledge that rumors and whispers and deals in hey, can you will you buddies talking to buddies?
00:13:26
Speaker 3: No, this you.
00:13:27
Speaker 4: Absolutely, I think it's fair to assume that a powerful member of Congress can still have an impact on anyone's staff member and their career and how they're viewed and what may happen to them in their career based on a.
00:13:44
Speaker 3: Relationship. Absolutely, you have what power?
00:13:48
Speaker 1: Young hungry, desperate, ambitious staffers running thousands of them, probably running around in congresses elbow to ebel with the most powerful people in our country. To say, well, just don't mess around with these ten on your staff and the other thousand.
00:14:12
Speaker 2: You're good, they're probably gonna have to change it.
00:14:14
Speaker 4: Absolutely, think about it as a workplace environment. Just because you're not under you know, my team, doesn't mean I still can't have an impact and I still can't use my power to get what I want. This is an imbalance of power, period. These aren't two co workers who are at the same level. This isn't a congressman with a congresswoman having an affair outside of their marriages. That is not what this is.
00:14:38
Speaker 1: So though, and again, they made some of these changes to the Code Conduct after twenty seventeen or eighteen with the.
00:14:43
Speaker 4: Around me two yes me too movement, but looks like there's still some more work to be done on that language.
00:14:49
Speaker 1: Uh well, yes, stay here, folks, We will remind you just how busy the House Ethics Committee has been and will continue to be.
00:15:07
Speaker 3: Welcome back to Amy and TJ.
00:15:10
Speaker 4: It's a mess in Congress, and as we pointed out, the House Ethics Committee has been very busy as of late. This has been an exceptionally busy season for them as they have been investigating plenty of lawmakers, and most of them have ultimately they put up a fight initially, but most of them have relented, dropped out, walked away, with the exception of Max Miller.
00:15:36
Speaker 3: But we got a list of men just.
00:15:38
Speaker 4: In recent months who have faced similar accusations and have denied, denied, denied, until they eventually just say.
00:15:48
Speaker 1: Uncle, yeahn resign, resigned. Swallwell, I guess he and Tony Gonzalez out of Texas were happening around the same time, weren't they, And these were two extraordinary cases. One didn't involve criminal activity, that's the Gonzales one, but it involved the death of a woman.
00:16:05
Speaker 4: I was just going to say, yes, he hasn't been charged with the crime, he isn't facing any criminal charges, but I believe her husband, her late husband, or excuse me, his wife who died by suicide after this relationship with Tony Gonzalez, certainly would like to see something. He believes that Tony Gonzalez is responsible in part for his wife's death. He hasn't been held criminally accountable for any of it, but certainly it eventually had him step down from his position.
00:16:34
Speaker 1: And to make sure that's clear, he's not responsible for playing a hand in some way physically in her death. She is believed to have died by suicide. However, the suggestion there were open some of the text messages and things that came out. This was such a strain on her, her life, her husband.
00:16:51
Speaker 4: She was a young mother, young mother, yes, and so yes, her husband has absolutely been incredibly vocal in his feelings about Tony Gonzalez and his role in the emotional part that led to his wife's untimely death.
00:17:05
Speaker 3: Then Eric Swalwell, as.
00:17:07
Speaker 4: We mentioned, is actually being investigated, I believe, in both LA and New York from accusations from several women who have stepped forward saying that they were sexually assaulted by him.
00:17:19
Speaker 1: And this is your guy who was on the verge of being the next governor of California potentially, So.
00:17:24
Speaker 4: It was a significant and landscape shifting accusation. And now, yes, he may his freedom is at stake at this point, don't know about that. We continue to monitor, but they take their time, especially in a case like this, to make sure they have what they need if they're going to go forward with any kind of criminal accusations. And then there's Chuck Edwards who just dropped his bid as well, following similar accusations the.
00:17:49
Speaker 1: Mid sixties, isn't he I think he's mid sixties, but accusations that he of sexual harassment. He gave a little too much attention to a couple of young staffers, gifts and things that he gave over time, comments that he was making, even taking them out nights out here and there making. Yeah, this all put together in a very creepy way where it seemed like he was trying to impress these women or trying to court them.
00:18:13
Speaker 4: It definitely seemed like a according situation, Yes, lavishing them with trips and gifts and private time that they didn't really want, and getting upset when they brought a date to an event. It was very creepy, it was very unprofessional, and ultimately, when all of that started to come out and these two young women documented what they went through, he ended up. It was too much politically for him to survive that. And then Max Miller, who has opted to fight on. He will be on the ballots in November as he tries to get reelected.
00:18:47
Speaker 3: It would be for his third term.
00:18:48
Speaker 4: I believe, despite some pretty damning accusations by his ex wife and two other women of domestic violence. His former father in law is a senator and he has been very outspoken as of late about his thoughts on Max Miller. Doesn't think he is fit to be a member of Congress, so he's being investigated now. But interestingly, Max Miller himself asked for the investigation. That was a little twist in this.
00:19:12
Speaker 1: Maybe maybe a pr move to say, hey, I would like my name to be cleared and if hey, if he doesn't think he's done anything wrong, then more power to you. But those accusations, those things are stacking. Does a really ugly back and forth, and a two year old child is involved in that, so well, it was like, should this be a sign that the system is working, that maybe that they're getting the bad ones out, that we are active, that we see it, that we are holding our own accountable, that were not sleep sweeping the stuff under the rug. Your dad always says anytime your dad microbiologists who worked in food safety his whole career, I'm like, dude, what the hell's going on?
00:19:51
Speaker 2: We can't eat anything. We keep having these outbreaks.
00:19:54
Speaker 1: He said that it's showing you that the system's working, that it's catching the things it's supposed to catching keeping it from get worse out there in the community. Yes, I just incorporated your dad into a story about Gomez, But that is what I think of. Is that possible, Babe, that they are doing their work, that they are doing a good job, and they are trying to get these folks out.
00:20:16
Speaker 4: You know, I hadn't thought of it that way, but I actually think that's a really good way to look at it, because when I started at the top, this is the worst kept secret in DC. Everyone knows what goes on, or had been going on, I should say, at least, it seemed like it was just something that people did sweep under the rug and whispered about and complained about privately to each other, but no one ever did anything actually about it. And now we are seeing the House Ethics Committee doing something about it, calling folks out, investigating claims like these, and women who have suffered silently for decades, I would argue, are now finally being heard and listened to, and that is a good thing.
00:20:58
Speaker 1: Maybe some positiveness, but here we go again, Uh, they are investigating Gomans. We there's one more to keep an eye on with it. How s Ethics Committee certainly shouldn't be taken a day off folks. As always, we appreciate you spending a little sign with us. I'm TJ. That's Robes. We'll talk to
00:21:16
Speaker 3: H