Rep. Katie Hill Resigns As Sex Scandal Mounts

LOS ANGELES, CA — Under investigation for sexual misconduct, freshman U.S. Rep. Katie Hill is set to resign, she announced Sunday. Her downfall has been swift.

She began the month a rising star in the Democratic party, but this week the House Ethics Committee announced it would investigate allegations that the congresswoman from Santa Clarita had a sexual affair with congressional aide in violation of House rules. She denied the allegation, but the scandal has been fueled by an ongoing series of sordid revelations.

“It is with a broken heart that today I announce my resignation from Congress. This is the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but I believe it is the best thing for my constituents, my community, and our country,” Hill wrote in a letter to constituents Sunday that was also posted on her Facebook page.

“This is what needs to happen so that the good people who supported me will no longer be subjected to the pain inflicted by my abusive husband and the brutality of hateful political operatives who seem to happily provide a platform to a monster who is driving a smear campaign built around cyber exploitation. Having private photos of personal moments weaponized against me has been an appalling invasion of my privacy. It’s also illegal, and we are currently pursuing all of our available legal options.”

Hill is in the midst of a messy divorce, and the conservative publication RedState.com published a series of articles including intimate texts and a nude photo that appear show that Hill and her husband had a longstanding sexual relationship with a 24-year-old female campaign staffer. Hill acknowledged that affair and apologized to her constituents for her poor judgement Wednesday.

In a letter sent to her constituents, she acknowledged having a relationship with a campaign staffer. The first openly bisexual congresswoman from California, Hill and her husband dated a woman who worked on her campaign, according to texts and graphic photos provided to RedState.com. The outlet published a nude photo of the Congresswoman in a series of articles accusing Hill of sexual impropriety.

In a letter, Hill apologized to voters for the relationship with the campaign staffer.

“During the final tumultuous years of my abusive marriage, I became involved in a relationship with someone on my campaign,” Hill’s letter said. “I know that even a consensual relationship with a subordinate is inappropriate, but I still allowed it to happen despite my better judgment.”

Hill also said she had contacted U.S. Capitol Police after intimate photos of her and another person were published by RedState, images she said were “published by Republican operatives on the internet without my consent.”

But that hardly quelled her critics.

It’s an alleged affair with her Congressional legislative director Graham Kelly that has her in the hot seat. According to the New York Post, Hill paid Kelly ran election bonus in April of $5,100 — nearly twice the amount other campaign staffers received.

Hill has repeatedly denied the affair, blaming the allegation on a smear campaign by her Republican opponents and an abusive husband.

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“Allegations that I have been involved in a relationship with Mr. Kelly are absolutely false,” Hill wrote.

Rarely has a congresswoman been investigated for alleged sexual impropriety. It’s a case that tested the Democratic Party’s leadership, which has taken a strict stance against sexual misconduct since the MeToo movement began.

The House voted in 2018 to prohibit sexual relationships between lawmakers and their employees.

Hill defeated then-Rep. Steve Knight, R-Palmdale, in November to represent the 25th Congressional District, which includes Santa Clarita Valley and portions of the northern San Fernando Valley, Antelope Valley and eastern Ventura County. Since then, Hill had been viewed as a rising star among Democrats and a prime target of Republicans, who see winning back her seat as a part of the path back to power in the House.

City News Service contributed to this report.