Amid everything else, don’t miss this @rachaelmbade SCOOP: Lawmaker (Farenthold) behind secret $84K sexual harassment settlement unmasked https://t.co/iYKWaLIg9b via @politico
— Carrie Budoff Brown (@cbudoffbrown) December 1, 2017
That’s at least one Republican quite happy with the timing of the Flynn indictment…
Rep. Blake Farenthold used taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment claim brought by his former spokesman — the only known sitting member of Congress to have used a little-known congressional account to pay an accuser, people familiar with the matter told POLITICO.
Lauren Greene, the Texas Republican’s former communications director, sued her boss in December 2014 over allegations of gender discrimination, sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment…
…[I]n a joint statement both Greene and Farenthold prepared at the time of the settlement but never released — a copy of which was shared with POLITICO by Alderman on Friday — the two confirmed they reached a deal in part to save taxpayer dollars.
“[A]fter it became clear that further litigating this case would come at great expense to all involved — including the taxpayers — the parties engaged in mediation with a court-appointed mediator,” the statement read. “After extensive discussion and consideration, the parties jointly agreed to accept the solution proposed by the mediator.”
The statement added: “The parties believe that the mediator’s solution saves the parties, and the taxpayers, significant sums that would be expended in further discovery and/or trial.”…
Farenthold, who used taxpayer money for the settlement, is worth $5.8 million https://t.co/pDcK3yFby7 https://t.co/pXeLmRZpdA
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) December 1, 2017