From Donald Trump donor and RNC Finance Chair Steve Wynn to Pennsylvania Rep. Patrick Meehan, the Republican party is currently facing its own cascading series of sexual misconduct scandals. Such as Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold, who — like Meehan — used taxpayer funds to pay off a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him. In addition to announcing he would not seek re-election, Farenthold also promised to pay back the $84,000 he siphoned from taxpayers. According to a new report, however, it seems the Texas congressman is backpedaling on that promise.
Per KXAN in Austin, Farenthold has decided not to repay the money while awaiting potential (and relevant) legislative changes in the House:
A member of his communications staff says, on the advice of counsel, Farenthold is “waiting to see what changes the House makes to the Congressional Accountability Act before repaying the funds.” KXAN contacted the Congressional Office of Compliance to confirm the status of the payment but we have not received a response as of this publication.
Farenthold himself did not respond to the local outlet’s request for comment on the matter. Even so, his decision to await the revived version of the Congressional Accountability Act (and its possible consequences) flies in the face of what he told another local TV news station back in December. “I’m doing my best and am going to hand a check over this week to probably Speaker Ryan or somebody and say, ‘Look, here’s the amount of my settlement. Give it back to the taxpayers,'” he said at the time.
(Via KXAN)