Rep. Brandon Williams Threatens Former Staffer in Tirade Caught on Video

Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y., speaks with reporters as he departs as Republicans meet to
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Bradley Jaye

Rep. Brandon Williams (R-NY) threatened a former staffer in an obscenity-filled tirade caught on video at a charity even in Washington, DC, on Thursday.

“Just so you know, everything, you f*** with my family, I’ll end every relationship you have, every single friend. Do you understand me? Do you understand me? You think I don’t know?” Williams told his former campaign manager and top staffer, whom his office claims he fired earlier this year, although the staffer disputes that claim, telling Breitbart News he resigned and submitted his two weeks’ notice.

“Hey, why don’t you get the police in?” Williams said to another partygoer.

Williams accused his former aide of having said unspecified “incredibly vile things” about his wife and daughter. “There are some things that have been said and I went up and said that’s not okay,” he told Semafor on Thursday, confirming that he initiated the altercation.

Another former staffer recorded the altercation on video.

Williams alleged that one of the two staffers “put his hands on me, and put his chest against me” in response, at which point the congressman walked away, presumably after he grabbed and threw down the former staffer’s phone.

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Stephanie Williams, the wife of the congressman, told Semafor she felt “violated” by the ordeal and that one of the two people in question had previously lived in their home for more than five months.

“I am overwhelmed with grief,” she said.

The couple said they did not plan to pursue any legal action against the duo, although it is uncertain what legal actions would be available to them.

A current staffer for Williams attempted an explanation as well, tweeting:

What you are seeing is two former staffers who were fired by the Congressman earlier this year. Both individuals, the one being confronted by the Congressman and the one filming, made rude comments about the female members of the Congressman’s family. These individuals planted stories with the media and one of them physically shoved the Congressman at a holiday event (edited from the video).

…

As a former nuclear submarine officer known for his temperament and poise, tonight should be a lesson to all, never go after this Navy Nuke’s family.

The former aide seen in the video denied the claims to Semafor and said Williams initiated the confrontation with the two former staffers over rumors he was unfamiliar with. “I haven’t said anything about his family,” he said.

Friday, Williams voted to expel Rep. George Santos (R-NY), his New York delegation colleague, from Congress. Williams had been a ringleader of the scheme to evict Santos since January.

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U.S. House of Representatives

Thursday evening, Santos replied to the video of Williams, calling it “unethical behavior that will get a slap on the wrist from Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS),” who chairs the House Ethics Committee and introduced a resolution to expel Santos.

“I’m told Rep. [Andrew] Garbarino (R-NY) was there and saw everything,” Santos continued. “Will he be taking matters into his own hands and doing the right thing as a member of the Ethics Committee? But hey they said I was lying today on the house floor when I said it’s all about late partying and drinking… Here you have some solid proof America!”

Santos was expelled by a 311-114 vote.

Update: After publication of this story, the staffer in question reached out to Breitbart News contesting Williams’ claim he was fired and instead says he resigned.

Follow Bradley Jaye on Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.

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