Former Democratic Rep. Katie Hill blamed the conservative media for uncovering an affair she had with a young female campaign staffer in a Monday video, a day after she announced her resignation.
Hill, 32, had photos published by Red State earlier this month that show her in a hotel room unclothed and brushing the hair of a female campaign staffer who worked on her 2018 congressional campaign. Additional photos were later published that showed her holding a bong and text messages with her husband and campaign workers expressing concern for her drinking habits.
“I made [the decision to resign] so that my supporters, my family, my staff, and our community will no longer be subjected to the pain inflicted by my abusive husband and the brutality of hateful political operatives,” Hill said in the video. “This coordinated campaign carried out by the right-wing media and Republican opponents, enabling and perpetuating my husband’s abuse by providing him a platform is disgusting and unforgivable.”
She also stated that those individuals “will be held accountable” and called it a “smear campaign.”
Hill has admitted to having an affair with the staffer during her marriage to her now-estranged husband, Kenny Heslep, who was also involved with the staffer. She did, however, deny the allegations that she also had an affair with her legislative director Graham C. Kelly.
She did not reference the staffer or the affair during the nearly four-minute-long video.
