New congressman faces sexual harassment allegation

Washington — House Democrats are investigating an allegation of intersexual harassment against Brian Poindexter, who defeated embattled GOP Rep. Max Miller of Ohio successful past week's elections. 

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, House Democrats' run arm, said Friday that it had hired an autarkic steadfast to analyse "any lawsuit of inappropriate behavior, behaviour interviews and stitchery the facts." 

"The DCCC has been made alert of the allegations and takes them seriously," the group's enforcement manager Julie Merz said successful a statement. 

A spokesperson for Poindexter's run characterized his actions arsenic "an innocuous compliment to a volunteer."

"He heard aboriginal that it made her consciousness uncomfortable and helium felt awful," the spokesperson said successful a statement. "When Brian learned astir this, we instantly began to enactment to get to the bottommost of it with an extracurricular HR firm. Neither Brian nor the run ever wants anyone to consciousness uncomfortable." 

The probe comes arsenic Congress grapples with however to overhaul however it handles allegations of intersexual misconduct arsenic galore lawmakers person faced complaints. 

The DCCC was made alert of the allegations from 2 governmental enactment committees — the Blue Dog PAC and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC — who said they were informed of a study of alleged intersexual harassment successful the last days earlier the election. 

"We informed the DCCC and connected the idiosyncratic with ineligible advocacy and enactment services truthful she could find however she wanted to proceed," the PACs said successful a associated connection Friday. "The idiosyncratic requested that we did not disclose immoderate details astir this publically due to the fact that she did not privation her individuality becoming nationalist and she wanted an accidental to find however she wanted to proceed portion protecting herself." 

The PACs said they pulled their endorsements from Poindexter "pending the probe being completed."