Texas Republican House Rep. Bryan Slaton was expected to face a likely expulsion from Congress when the Texas House of Representatives was recently slated to cast a vote on the matter, following a bombshell investigation that produced allegations of sexual harassment, disorderly misconduct, sleeping with a 19-year-old aide, and a slew of other uncovered, heinous behaviors against the GOP lawmaker, according to a thundering report from the Washington Post.
As a result of the extensive investigation, 45-year-old Rep. Slaton was accused of disorderly conduct; allegations that included sexual harassment, abusing his position of power in Congress, and providing alcohol to an underage individual. The investigation was launched last month, following accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation from a 21-year-old legislative intern and not one, but two 19-year-old aides.
The final report from the House’s general investigation committee was released, in which the committee determined that Slaton’s expulsion from Congress is “the only appropriate discipline in this matter,” according to the WaPo report.
The young aides and intern claimed that the Texas Republican House Rep. helped them acquire alcohol on numerous occasions and provided the three young women, two of which were not of legal drinking age, with alcoholic beverage vouchers during a lobbying event in January.
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One of the 19-year-old aides, who was employed in Slaton’s office, spoke with investigators and alleged that the GOP lawmaker called her on the phone almost every night and repeatedly told her she had “nice features.” Slanton was further accused of inviting that same aide, along with three other friends, to his condo in Austin, TX, on March 31st, where she was given multiple rum and Coke drinks until she was “really dizzy” and her vision became blurry. According to her statement to investigators, she stayed over at Slaton’s condo after her friends left.
The young aide’s friends also spoke with investigators and claimed that the aide took the emergency contraceptive Plan B the next morning and was driven home by the Republican lawmaker. According to the Washington Post, the aide admitted to her friends that she had sex with Rep. Slaton.
Rep. Andrew Murr spoke out on the matter and stated, “The expulsion of a fellow member is a level of punishment we don’t take lightly. It is not meant to punish the member. Rather, it is intended to protect the integrity and dignity of this legislative body and to provide accountability to everyone that works and serves in this building.”
In their final report, members of the House’s general investigation committee wrote, “Slaton’s misconduct is grave and serious. He took advantage of his position to engage in sexual conduct after completing training in which he had been advised that conduct of this type was harassment because of the power imbalance.”
Read the full, stomach-churning report from the Washington Post here.
Featured image via Flickr/Gage Skidmore, under Creative Commons license 2.0
