Last Saturday, it was reported that Republican U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan of Pennsylvania had settled his own sexual misconduct case after a former aide accused him of making unwanted advances. Meehan denied sexually harassing the woman while sources told the New York Times that Meehan had sent her a letter and expressed his attraction to her in person after she entered a serious relationship with another man. The Philadelphia Inquirer now has statements from Meehan, who admitted that he harbored an “affection” for the aide and told her (over ice cream) that he viewed her as “a soul mate.”
While Meehan still denies sexually harassing the woman, he also conceded to writing her a letter that contains language that sounds … unusual, especially since he admits to acting “selfishly”:
[Meehan] also acknowledged that he initially reacted “selfishly” when he found out the aide, decades younger than him, had entered into a serious relationship with another man, and shared a heartfelt, hand-written letter he wrote to her in May wishing her well, but also thanking God “for putting you into my life and for all that we have seen and experienced and genuinely shared together.”
Meehan maintains that he has no plans to drop his reelection campaign for Pennsylvania’s Seventh District, despite Speaker Paul Ryan immediately removing Meehan from the House Ethics Committee following Saturday’s news. More and more, the 2018 House elections look like a guaranteed trainwreck, but Pennsylvania’s Congressional districts will be spruced up ahead of time.
(Via Philly.com)