Katie Hill Calls Out Matt Gaetz's Hypocrisy Following Sexual Misconduct Allegations

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Former Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.), whom Rep. Matt Gaetz defended when she was the victim of leaked nude photos, said Monday that the Florida Republican must resign if the sexual misconduct allegations against him are true.

The ex-congresswoman, who resigned in October 2019 in response to the leaked photos and allegations of a sexual relationship with her staffer, wrote an op-ed in Vanity Fair detailing her now-ended friendship with Gaetz and her reaction to reports that he is under federal investigation for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old girl and paying for her to travel with him across state lines.

“Some of these actions are criminal and some of them should be,” Hill wrote. “All are morally reprehensible and unacceptable for a lawmaker. If there is even a fraction of truth to these reports, he should resign immediately.”

The New York Times reported last week that the Justice Department is investigating Gaetz for federal sex trafficking violations related to the alleged sexual misconduct, specifically related to the 17-year-old girl. The age of consent under federal law is 18 years, and taking the underage girl across state lines to have sex would violate federal sex trafficking laws.

https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/katie-hill-matt-gaetz-hypocrisy-sexual-misconduct-040908924.html

[Trueblue1968]

1. she should NOT HAVE resigned!!!

[Dawson Leery]

2. She should not have resigned!

[Deuxcents]

3. I agree

[crickets]

4. Vanity Fair op-ed mentioned in the story:

MATT GAETZ DEFENDED ME WHEN MY NUDES WERE SHARED WITHOUT MY CONSENT. NOW HE’S ACCUSED OF DOING JUST THAT
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/04/katie-hill-on-matt-gaetz-needing-to-resign

Last week’s scandal, which centers on a Justice Department investigation into allegations of possible sex trafficking of a minor, also involves accusations of the same crime of which I was a victim: the nonconsensual sharing of intimate images. And in a twist of irony, the accused person, Matt Gaetz, is one of the few colleagues who came to my defense when it happened to me. [snip]

But then CNN reported that Matt had shown at least two lawmakers photos and videos of naked women. The women on his phone likely had no idea that the nude photos and videos they’d either privately shared or that he’d taken (with or without their consent) were being passed around and ogled by Republican congressmen. If true, Matt had engaged in the very practice he’d defended me from.

Sharing intimate images or videos of someone without their consent should be illegal, plain and simple. It shouldn’t matter if it was done to hurt someone, as with revenge porn, or to brag about your sexual conquests, like Matt has been accused of doing. In fact, I’ve spent the last few months advocating for a bill called the SHIELD Act to be included as part of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, which just passed the House and is headed to the Senate. If enacted, it will become a federal crime to knowingly distribute an intimate visual depiction of someone without their permission. [snip]

Let me state it as clearly as possible: If, despite his denials, Matt Gaetz did have sex with a minor, if he did provide girls and young women with drugs and money and gifts in exchange for sex, if he did ask these girls and young women to recruit other women for the same purpose, and if he did show his colleagues images of nude women without their consent, he needs to be held responsible. Some of these actions are criminal and some of them should be. All are morally reprehensible and unacceptable for a lawmaker.

If there is even a fraction of truth to these reports, he should resign immediately. [more]

Gaetz voted against the SHIELD Act, as well as the Violence Against Women Act. Much more at the link.