Freshman Rep. Katie Hill, D-Calif., on Thursday announced she will resign Friday because of what she called a “double standard.”
She became embroiled in scandal when nude images of her surfaced online amid accusations of an affair with a male congressional staff member and a three-way relationship with a female campaign staffer and her estranged husband.
The House Ethics Committee has opened an investigation into her behavior.
Twitter news aggregator Twitchy cited a Washington Post analysis supporting Hill’s double- standard claim titled “Revenge porn drove Katie Hill out of Congress. Would that have happened to a man?”
“Apparently we’re supposed to assume that Katie Hill resigned from office over revenge porn and not breaking a rule about having sexual relationships with subordinates, and we’re supposed to assume such a thing could [n]ever happen to a man,” Twitchy said.
In fact, Republican Joe Barton and Democrat Anthony Weiner are no longer in Congress due to scandals involving lewd photos posted on Twitter.
Twitter user Michele Blood, explained, “Hill’s constituents don’t care about having seen her bare body. They care that her abuse of her staffers was laid bare, and Hill isn’t woman enough to face the consequences for that ethical breach.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted Hill is “an outstanding young public servant.”
Pelosi didn’t address the allegations of affairs.
“It’s shameful that she’s been exposed to public humiliation and to cyber exploitation,” she said.
The House speaker insisted Thursday that Hill’s resignation was “her decision.”
Hill is “an absolutely outstanding, young, public servant, very smart, strategic, patriotic, loves our country, respected by her colleagues in the Congress for the work that she does here,” Pelosi said.
The 32-year-old Hill represents California’s 25th district.
Talking Points Memo noted that Pelosi previously acknowledged Hill’s admission of “errors in judgment.”
“She has acknowledged errors in judgment that made her continued service as a member untenable. We must ensure a climate of integrity and dignity in the Congress, and in all workplaces,” Pelosi said earlier.
