The House Ethics Committee on Monday issued a rare statement defending its handling of sexual harassment charges, after the resignations of two lawmakers facing sexual misconduct accusations brought renewed attention to the limits of the often slow and opaque system for scrutinizing potential misconduct by members of Congress.
The lawmakers, Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, and Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, both faced investigations by the Ethics Committee over accusations of sexual misconduct with aides. Both resigned last week in the face of political pressure and bipartisan threats to expel them.
In an unsigned statement, the secretive ethics panel, which is equally split between Democrats and Republicans, said, “There should be zero tolerance” for sexual misconduct in Congress. The committee, which is charged with investigating allegations of wrongdoing by members of Congress and recommending penalties for infractions, urged House employees to make complaints to the panel or to two administrative offices meant to protect employees in the workplace.
But in urging employees to step forward, the committee also acknowledged flaws in the reporting process that could allow offenses to go unaddressed. It noted that congressional staffers might be reluctant to bring accusations of misconduct against lawmakers to a panel that is controlled by those same lawmakers’ peers.
“Unfortunately, there likely exist matters never reported to the committee,” the statement said. Later, it asserted that “the greatest hurdle the committee faces” was “convincing the most vulnerable witnesses to share their stories.”
In the wake of the accusations against Mr. Swalwell and Mr. Gonzales, several lawmakers have questioned whether the Ethics Committee, which typically operates behind closed doors and says little publicly about its work, is the appropriate avenue for congressional staffers to pursue sexual misconduct and harassment claims.
The panel said it was committed to publicly releasing any findings of “evidence of sexual misconduct.” But it also acknowledged that it had been unable to finish inquiries into several lawmakers because they left office before the investigations had concluded.
The panel listed 28 times that it had investigated House members for possible sexual misconduct since 1976. In 13 of those cases — nearly half — the committee’s inquiry ended when the lawmaker left Congress, and the committee lost the jurisdiction to continue its investigation.
Those included the investigations into Mr. Gonzales, who admitted to violating House rules by having an affair with an aide who later killed herself, and Mr. Swalwell, who has been accused of sexual assault and misconduct and has denied the charges.
The committee also acknowledged that it is currently investigating Representative Cory Mills, Republican of Florida, for possible “sexual misconduct and/or dating violence,” but it has not provided any details of the timeline for its investigation.
Mr. Mills, who has been accused of assault, threatening a former girlfriend with the release of revenge porn and violating campaign finance rules, has denied the allegations.
Representative Nancy Mace, Republican of South Carolina, has argued that the committee overly protects lawmakers accused of misconduct. Last month, she tried to force a vote on a measure that would have required the committee to publicly release any allegations of sexual harassment.
The panel’s leaders have opposed forcing the disclosure of complaints, arguing that victims reluctant to be publicly scrutinized would be less likely to step forward.
The committee said in Monday’s statement that such concerns led it to only release “the information that is necessary to hold members accountable for misconduct and address public reporting that impacts the integrity of the House.”
But in a separate statement, Representative Mark DeSaulnier of California, the top Democrat on the panel, acknowledged that the House’s current policies had shortcomings.
“For too long, the system has made it too hard to come forward, too easy to avoid accountability, and too tempting to look the other way,” Mr. DeSaulnier, who joined Congress in 2015, said. “That has to end.”
Michael Gold covers Congress for The Times, with a focus on immigration policy and congressional oversight.
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