To analyze New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s resignation over numerous sexual harassment claims, a left-wing cable news network turned to a Democrat accused of sexual harassment.
MSNBC interviewed former Congresswoman Katie Hill (D-CA) on Tuesday’s episode of “All In with Chris Hayes.”
Guest host Mehdi Hasan said Cuomo’s decision to quit before state legislators initiated impeachment proceedings proved that Democrats hold higher standards for politicians accused of sexual impropriety.
“Today is a sad day for the Democratic Party,” said Hasan. “But you could say it’s a sadder day for American democracy, because it’s a reminder that there are only consequences, there is only accountability, for Democrats in our system, not for Republicans.”
He then turned to Hill, who stepped down during her first term in the House of Representatives after photographs proved that she and her husband had a sex-and-drugs-fueled “throuple” with a 22-year-old female staffer.
The subordinate, Morgan Desjardin, texted Hill’s then-husband, Kenneth Heslep, that she worried Hill “can ruin politics, take all my friends, and isolate me.” She said their relationship had become “toxic.” Heslep, in turn, said that he and Hill had treated her with “abusive” behavior.
Hasan asked Hill how to best advance the cause of women being treated fairly by their political bosses.
“Katie, you have a unique perspective on this, given the way you ended up resigning from Congress,” said Hasan.“Where are we now in terms of the #MeToo Movement, in terms of standing up to sexual misconduct in public life? Did today move us forward?”
Hill said “it’s not enough” for Cuomo to leave office voluntarily. “We have to recognize is that harassment of women is an extension of violence against women. And that`s a much more pervasive problem.”
Lawmakers must “do something basic like pass the Violence Against Women Act,” she said.
Hasan asked what Hill thought of the alleged “Republican double standard when it comes to holding their bad actors accountable.”
Hill agreed that “there is absolutely no comparison” between the parties, adding that she resigned from Congress purely out of personal integrity. “It was my own decision. It wasn’t people who were calling for it.” In reality, her challengerand many constituents had called on her to resign; she faced a House Ethics Committee investigation over the improper relationship; and news had broken that Hill had paid Desjardins hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations as a consultant.
“I think that there’s is an inherent tendency to protect people in power,” Hill told Hasan on Tuesday. “We have to constantly be on the lookout [to ask], ‘Are we holding ourselves accountable?’”
Since leaving office, Hill has consistently said her promising political career had been cut short by “biphobia,”“Republican operatives,” and “an abusive husband who seems determined to try to humiliate me.”
She sued three conservative news outlets, including the UK’s Daily Mail, for publishing nude photographs that established her affair with Desjardins. But Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yolanda Orozco did not believe the photos constituted “revenge porn” and ordered Hill to pay the outlets approximately $220,000 in attorney fees.
Hill’s former staffers also reportedly rejected her story. “Former staff” apparently took over Hill’s official Twitter account as the scandal broke, posting a series of tweets casting Hill as an abuser.
“Katie Hill’s story — our story — is also one of workplace abuse and harassment,” they wrote. “Katie took advantage of her subordinates. She caused immense harm to the people who worked for her, many of whom were young women just beginning their careers in politics.”
“In order to advance the #MeToo movement, we must be willing to acknowledge the problematic behaviors among those in our own communities. Only then will we see true progress,” they wrote.
But the circumstances of Hill’s resignation have not kept her from becoming a fixture on left-wing cable news networksMSNBC and CNN, where fawning hosts have often encouraged her to get back into politics. In June the host of CNN’s “New Day,” Brianna Keilar, asked Hill “Will you run again?” When Hill evaded the question, Keilar responded, “We will keep asking.”
https://www.dailywire.com/news/katie-hill-democratic-ex-congresswoman-in-throuple-must-pay-conservative-newspaper-105k-after-lawsuit-backfires
https://www.dailywire.com/news/katie-hill-sex-scandal-worsens-staffer-felt-abused-in-toxic-relationship-consent-questions-emerge-report-says
https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-staff-hijacks-democrat-katie-hills-gov-twitter-account-accuses-her-of-abuse-not-a-hero-for-women
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.
Source: Dailywire
