Pat Meehan Plans Re-Election Bid Despite Taxpayer-Funded Settlement to Former Staffer for Whom He Admits ‘Affection’

Rep. Pat Meehan (R-PA) says he will seek another term despite his confession that he considered a former staffer a “soul mate” and used taxpayer funds for what he called a severance payment after she complained about his behavior.

The New York Times reported on Saturday on what it calls a settlement in a report titled “Congressman Combating Harassment Settled His Own Misconduct Case” and cited Meehan’s membership on the House Ethics Committee.

The Times reported:

Representative Patrick Meehan, a Pennsylvania Republican who has taken a leading role in fighting sexual harassment in Congress, used thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to settle his own misconduct complaint after a former aide accused him last year of making unwanted romantic overtures to her, according to several people familiar with the settlement.

A married father of three, Mr. Meehan, 62, had long expressed interest in the personal life of the aide, who was decades younger and had regarded the congressman as a father figure, according to three people who worked with the office and four others with whom she discussed her tenure there.

But after the woman became involved in a serious relationship with someone outside the office last year, Mr. Meehan professed his romantic desires for her — first in person, and then in a handwritten letter — and he grew hostile when she did not reciprocate, the people familiar with her time in the office said.

The Times reported that the woman reached a confidential agreement with Meehan that included a settlement in an undisclosed amount.

In the Times report, John Elizandro, Meehan’s communications director, issued a statement that said the lawmaker “denies these allegations” and “has always treated his colleagues, male and female, with the utmost respect and professionalism.”

After learning the news, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) removed Meehan from the ethics committee, according to his spokesperson.

But the Inquirer and Daily News reported Meehan confessed his affection for the former staffer and considered her a “soul mate,” and Meehan shared a letter — on official House stationary — he wrote to the woman and the text she sent to him thanking him “for the kind words” and his friendship.

“Thank you for all that you have done for me, and for all that you continue to do,” Meehan wrote. “I thank God for putting you into my life and for all that we have seen and experienced and … shared together.”

The Inquirer and Daily News reported:

U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan acknowledged Tuesday that he had a deep “affection” for a younger aide and told her last year that he saw her as “a soul mate,” but said he never pursued a romantic relationship with the woman and, despite paying her a secret settlement, denied her claims of sexual harassment.

For Meehan, it landed as he already faced a difficult reelection bid in the Seventh Congressional District, a moderate suburban district, in a year that has seen a sharp national backlash on sexual harassment. In the 40-minute interview, the incumbent said he would not abandon his reelection bid.

The Inquirer and Daily News reported that Alexis Ronickher, a lawyer for the former aide, criticized Meehan for speaking publicly after both parties agreed not to do so.

“My client is going to uphold her end of the confidentiality agreement,” Ronickher said. “She resolved this matter in order to put this behind her and keep her life private. She is not going to make a public spectacle of it regardless of what he does.”