Quote:The top Democrat on the House Committee on Natural Resources used taxpayer dollars to pay off a former staffer who threatened to sue, claiming the lawmaker was often drunk and created a hostile workplace.

Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva’s secret deal with a former female staffer was revealed by The Washington Times on Monday. The payout was negotiated by the House Employment Counsel, the body’s attorney, and cost taxpayers $48,395.

The settlement, however, may have violated House rules, The Times reported. It’s against House rules for a lawmaker to retain “an employee who does not perform duties for the offices of the employing authority commensurate with the compensation such employee receives.”

Grijalva’s payout also should have been handed over in a lump sum, not paid out in monthly installments, The Times reported. Taxpayers paid Grijalva’s disgruntled staffer five month’s severance. The female staffer left her job after just three months, and didn’t pursue the matter after leaving Grijalva’s employment.

(11-28-2017 07:36 PM)TechRocks Wrote:  Pub and donk alike need to be embarrassed in front of the American people who pay their salaries.

(11-28-2017 11:07 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(11-28-2017 07:36 PM)TechRocks Wrote:  Pub and donk alike need to be embarrassed in front of the American people who pay their salaries.

I would be surprised if there were no Republicans paying out claims, even though no Republican names have come out yet. They need to make it all public. Then again, maybe only the Democrats used public dollars to fix their problems and the Republicans did it privately.

(11-29-2017 07:38 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  So you are telling me the master criminals in Russia can get all of the DNC emails but can't get one single congressional spreadsheet file that lists who settled what claims with whom?

What good is wikileaks if they can't even get their mitts on something as simple and as not connected to national security as that?

Quote:Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva demanded The Washington Times apologize for publishing an article revealing he used taxpayer dollars to pay off a former staffer who claimed his drinking created a hostile work environment.

The House Employment Counsel negotiated a deal to give a former female staffer $48,395 to not pursue a complaint that Grijalva was “frequently drunk and created a hostile workplace environment,” The Times published in a report Monday.

The former staffer got an additional five months salary, despite her only working for three months before leaving. The Times noted the settlement may have violated House rules.

Grijalva pushed back, saying The Times “owes me an apology,” Politico reported. Grijalva is the top Democrat on the House Committee on Natural Resources.