Silence on Senate staffer’s Capitol Hill gay sex tape broken by now-former boss who expressed varied emotions over “breach of trust.”
Avoiding certain specifics on “personnel issues,” Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin (D) responded as he was pressed by reporters Monday evening to comment on the pornographic video featuring and recorded by a since “separated” staffer. Questioned outside the Senate cloakroom, the congressman spoke to anger and disappointment over the “tragic situation.”
“I was angry, disappointed. It’s a breach of trust so all of the above. It’s a tragic situation, and it’s presented a lot of anger and frustration. I’m concerned about our staff and the way that they feel about this,” he told reporters.
CNN’s chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju captured some commentary from Cardin who went on to state, “When I learned about it, [I] made sure that he was separated.”
“He left the Senate employment and the appropriate steps were taken from the point of view of our office,” noted the Maryland lawmaker.
Cardin on the staffer: pic.twitter.com/fstAqdBn2h
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 18, 2023
After the video filmed in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room of the Hart Senate Office Building, known as the location for the televised grilling of Supreme Court nominees, went viral Friday, 24-year-old Cardin staffer Aidan Maese-Czeropski had been reportedly fired by Saturday for the documented deviancy.
Asked by Raju, “How did he get in there?” Cardin replied, “I don’t know the details,” before adding, “My knowledge of this was over the weekend when I learned about it.”
The reporter also wondered at the senator’s familiarity with the former staffer to which he contended, “These are personnel issues and I would not be the right person — I’m not gonna — I’m just not gonna get into personnel issues.”
While the politician shook his head when questioned if he had spoken with Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) about the incident, Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy (R), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told the Washington Examiner Monday, “I think there’s gonna be an investigation, and I think there will probably be a criminal prosecution is my best guess.”
Amid concerns over legal troubles, the staffer had identified himself and issued a statement that read in part, “This has been a difficult time for me, as I have been attacked for who I love to pursue a political agenda.”
Dem staffer fired over raunchy Senate gay sex video and that may be the LEAST of his problems https://t.co/Lh9u2WawmN via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) December 17, 2023
George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley suggested that the act may have violated laws “including lewd, indecent, or obscene acts.”
“Staffers have access into such rooms, but the question is whether this unofficial use would constitute trespass. It also uses an official area for personal purposes, though it is not clear if there were any commercial benefits garnered from the video found on various sites,” he wrote on his blog Saturday.
“The Capitol police could argue that this constitutes purloining or using government property for personal purposes,” added Turley who also said, “The key factor is the fact that this videotape was made with the apparent intent to publish or show others. Sex in congressional offices — by both members and staff — have long been known to occur on Capitol Hill. Yet, this was a public hearing room, albeit closed at the time, and a tape made for what appears to be viewing.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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