Alcee Hastings Sexual Harassment Allegation Investigated By Ethics Panel

Another Sex Scandal Brewing on Capitol Hill?

A congressional ethics panel is looking into claims that Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) sexually harassed one of his staff members, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The investigation comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by Winsome Packer alleging Hastings made repeated unwanted sexual advances and threatened her job when she refused him. Packer is being represented by the conservative legal group Judicial Watch.

Hastings called the claims "ludicrous."

"I have never sexually harassed anyone," the representative said in a statement sent to the AP. "In fact, I am insulted that these ludicrous allegations are being made against me... I will win this lawsuit."

Hastings gave a more vague response in a recent interview, according to the Journal.

"Quite frankly your source has as much or more information than I do and I would suggest you rely upon them," he said. "It would be impossible for me in a paragraph or a page or two or a tome or volumes one and two to help you understand the dynamics of these events. I'll leave it at that."

News of the investigation comes a week after former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) resigned following a scandal that erupted after he tweeted a lewd photo of himself.

In April, Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) resigned in the midst of an ethics probe looking into whether he made efforts to cover up an affair with a former staffer. A Senate ethics panel found that Ensign lied to the Federal Election Commission and violated campaign finance laws.

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