Home United States USA — mix Fourth woman details Congressman Ruben Kihuen’s unwanted overtures

Fourth woman details Congressman Ruben Kihuen’s unwanted overtures

242
0
SHARE

A fourth woman has accused Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D-Nev.) of unwanted overtures.
A fourth woman has accused Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D-Nev.) of unwanted overtures, The Nevada Independent reported, after the freshman lawmaker announced he would not seek reelection.
The 24-year-old woman, who withheld her identity so as not to jeopardize her career prospects, detailed Kihuen’s advances toward her when she worked at a Washington, D. C., firm that did business with Kihuen’s campaign.
She is the fourth woman to accuse the 37-year-old congressman of unwanted advances, and the first to publicly describe encounters that took place after he was elected to Congress, The Nevada Independent reported.
The House Ethics Committee announced Friday that it opened an investigation into the allegations against the lawmaker.
Kihuen said he welcomed the opportunity to clear his name.
He said he would not seek reelection, claiming that the allegations would interfere with running a campaign.
The woman described a pattern of behavior consistent with other accuser’s allegations against Kihuen.
She said Kihuen asked her at work why she didn’t have a boyfriend. He also asked if she lived alone, and offered to help advance her career — an offer she interpreted as a possible exchange of sexual favors for a career boost, The Nevada Independent reported.
She said that Kihuen, who is unmarried, rubbed her lower back and kissed her face at a campaign fund-raiser.
“He was notorious. We work with [numerous members of Congress] and none of them have texted people in the office or kissed or done anything suggestive,” the woman told The Nevada Independent.
Kihuen has denied the allegations against him.
“I adamantly deny these unsubstantiated allegations. My interactions with this woman were limited and always professional. As I’ve said previously, I welcome the opportunity to clear my name before the House Ethics Committee,” Kihuen said in a statement to The Nevada Independent.
The woman recalled an incident at a karaoke fund-raiser on Oct. 25.
She said, “he walks in, walks straight up to me, puts his arm around me, kissed me on the cheek and then spent the whole night talking to me.”
“He kissed me three times. He asked me if I live by myself, he asked me about my roommate, he told me he lives by himself, he asked where my apartment is, he asked me again how old I am, he asked me again if I don’t have a boyfriend and then he told me I’m one of the most beautiful girls he’s ever seen in D. C., and I said ‘that’s a low bar,’” she told The Nevada Independent.
When Kihuen found out the woman was a runner, he asked if she wanted a running buddy or bodyguard, The Nevada Independent reported.
While the pair were together at the party, he asked about her career aspirations. The woman said she hoped to work on the Hill, to which he said, “Let me help you,” she recalled, according to the report.
She was upset by his offer because she said he wasn’t familiar with the quality of her work.
“There’s no reason he would help me other than the fact that he would want something in return so it just sort of — it was upsetting,” she said.
A Kihuen campaign finance director identified as Samantha also accused him of harassment despite her repeated rejections.
She said he suggested the two get a hotel room together.
“I said ‘no’ very firmly and he just laughed at me. It was humiliating,” she told BuzzFeed News.
A lobbyist alleges Kihuen sent her hundreds of suggestive texts even when she brushed him off, the Independent reported.
A third woman who worked at the front desk of Kihuen’s Las Vegas condo said he sent her “creepy and nasty” texts at unusual hours.

Continue reading...