Democratic Rep. Katie Hill alleged to have engaged in "inappropriate" relationship with staffer

Democratic Rep. Katie Hill acknowledged that in the final years of what she called an "abusive marriage," she began a relationship with the unnamed campaign staffer.

"I know that even a consensual relationship with a subordinate is inappropriate, but I still allowed it to happen despite my better judgment," Hill wrote. "For that I apologize. I wish nothing but the best for her and hope everyone respects her privacy in this difficult time."

She continued, "I am going through a divorce from an abusive husband who seems determined to try to humiliate me. I am disgusted that my opponents would seek to exploit such a private matter for political gain. This coordinated effort to try to destroy me and the people close to me is despicable and will not succeed. I, like many women who have faced attacks like this before, am stronger than those who want me to be afraid."

Here’s more from the LA Times:

Rep. Katie Hill (D-Santa Clarita) is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee after allegations that she engaged in an affair with a congressional aide were made public last week.

In a statement, committee Chairman Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) and ranking member Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-Texas) said the committee was aware that Hill “may have engaged in a sexual relationship with an individual on her congressional staff,” an allegation Hill has denied. House rules were changed last year to prohibit such relationships between members and their employees.

In a letter to constituents Wednesday, Hill again denied the alleged relationship with a House staffer, but acknowledged she was involved in a separate relationship with a member of her campaign staff “during the final tumultuous years of my abusive marriage.”

“I know that even a consensual relationship with a subordinate is inappropriate, but I still allowed it to happen despite my better judgment,” the letter read.

Over the weekend, the conservative website RedState published a series of articles alleging that Hill had engaged in relationships with a member of her campaign staff and a House staffer.

She admits the relationship with her campaign staffer, but not with the House staffer:

On Tuesday, Hill denied having a relationship with the House staff member and said she had contacted U.S. Capitol Police after intimate photos of her and another person had been published by the website. The statement Tuesday made no mention of the alleged relationship with her campaign staffer.

Hill, who is in divorce proceedings with her husband of nine years, Kenneth Heslep, claimed Heslep “seems determined to try to humiliate me.”

“The truth is, distributing intimate photos with the intent to publish them is a crime, and the perpetrator should be punished to the full extent of the law,” Hill said in the letter Wednesday. She added that she is cooperating with the House Ethics Committee and Capitol Police.

In the photos at Redstate, Hill is seen in one photo kissing her staffer and in another photo brushing the same staffer’s hair while she sits naked in a chair. The photos were blurred, of course, to hide the naughty.

The one Hill is denying is the one that could get her in trouble as a House member, so we’ll see where that goes with the Ethics Committee.