By now, you know that former congressman Blake Farenthold is back in the spotlight—lobbying his former colleagues barely a month after leaving office in disgrace. But that’s not the most unseemly part of this story. Not by a longshot.
You may recall that Farenthold was all but forced to resign in the face of a furor over settling an allegation of harassment by his former communications director, Lauren Greene. According to the terms, which came to light in December, Greene was paid $84,000 out of a Treasury account earmarked for that purpose. And yet, Farenthold is worth over $2.4 million.
But such matters as basic decency don’t matter to Farenthold, as he made abundantly clear when ABC News collared him.
Farenthold then made clear that he has no intention of repaying an $84,000 taxpayer settlement stemming from a 2014 complaint by a former congressional aide alleging sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation.
“I will say this on the record: I have been advised by my attorneys not to repay that,” Farenthold told ABC. “That’s why it hasn’t been repaid.”
Farenthold refused to disclose his attorneys’ justification for that legal advice.
I wonder where you buy cojones that big in Corpus Christi. After all, not only does Farenthold have more than enough money to repay that settlement out of his own pocket, but he went back on his own promise to pay the money back. There’s video of it from December, when he spoke to local NBC affiliate KRIS-TV; click over to my article at RDTDaily to watch. What makes this even more outrageous is that Greene has been unable to get a steady job since the settlement.
By sticking us—his former employers—with the bill for his harassment, Farenthold demonstrated utter contempt for his constituents. And by still refusing to pay it, he has proven beyond any doubt that he was unfit for office.