Representative Blake Farenthold

Members involved

• Blake Farenthold (R-TX)

Statement

On June 29, 2015, the Committee received a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) regarding whether Representative Blake Farenthold sexually harassed a former member of his staff, discriminated against her on the basis of her gender, and retaliated against her for complaining about the alleged unlawful treatment. Pursuant to House Rule XI, clause 3(b)(8)(A) and Committee Rule 17A, the Chairman and Ranking Member jointly decided on August 13, 2015, to extend the Committee’s review of the matter. In its referral, OCE unanimously recommended that the Committee dismiss the matter, because OCE did not find substantial reason to believe that Representative Farenthold engaged in the alleged conduct. These allegations are also the subject of a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and currently pending in that court. Due to the ongoing nature of the lawsuit, the Committee has not yet been able to complete its review of the matter and therefore is not in a position to dismiss the matter at this time.

Documents

• Statement on ethics.house.gov
• Document 1 (PDF)
• Document 2 (PDF)

More

• All House ethics statements