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Democratic Rep. Esty says she won't seek re-election after abuse claims against ex-staffer

By Samuel Chamberlain | Fox News


Elizabeth Esty has announced she will not seek a fourth term in Congress. (CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-Conn., announced Monday that she would not seek re-election this November amid accusations that she failed to protect her female staffers from a former chief of staff accused of harassment and abuse.

In statement posted on Facebook, Esty said: "I have determined that it is in the best interest of my constituents and my family to end my time in Congress at the end of this year and not seek re-election."

Esty had come under pressure to resign after reports by The Connecticut Post and The Washington Post revealed that Esty allowed her then-chief of staff, Tony Baker, to remain on the job in despite knowledge of allegations that he physically harmed and threatened to “kill” another staffer.

"Too many women have been harmed by harassment in the workplace," Esty wrote. "In the terrible situation in my office, I could have and should have done better. To the survivor, I want to express my strongest apology for letting you down."

Earlier Monday, Esty asked the House Ethics Committee to determine whether she did anything wrong in handling Baker's firing.

In her letter to committee members, Esty said she learned through a third party in 2016 about possible misconduct by Baker involving a former staffer, who worked in her office from January 2013 to March 2015. Esty has said she fired Baker three months later after receiving an internal investigation report that revealed improper behavior by Baker that affected multiple female staffers.

Before news of the controversy broke, Esty had issued press releases calling for tougher harassment protections for congressional staffers and was among those demanding that then-U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., resign amid allegations of misconduct.

A spokesman for Baker, the former chief of staff, told Hearst Connecticut Media and the Washington Post that he denies some of the allegations. A phone number listed for a Tony Baker in Columbus, Ohio, where the spokesman said the former chief of staff was living, was disconnected.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi commended Esty's former employee, Anna Kain, for coming forward and telling her story.

Pelosi stopped short of calling on the congresswoman to resign.

"As Congresswoman Esty has acknowledged, her actions did not protect Ms. Kain and should have," Pelosi said in a written statement.

 http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018...x-staffer.html