Rep. Tony Cardenas, D-Calif., is denying allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor after he disclosed to fellow House Democrats he is an unnamed defendant in a recently filed lawsuit.
“My client is sickened and distraught by these horrific allegations, which are 100% categorically untrue,” Patricia Glaser, Cardenas’ attorney, said in a statement. “To reiterate, these claims against the Congressman are absolutely false and utterly inconsistent with who he is — in the workplace, in the community, and at home.”
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County last week and accuses Cardenas of inappropriately touching a 16-year-old girl beneath her clothes during a drive to an emergency room after he gave her an odd-tasting cup of water. The lawsuit claims the abuse occurred in 2007.
The lawsuit claims that he befriended the woman two years prior at a golf tournament in 2005. The Los Angeles Times was the first to report the lawsuit.
According to Politico, Cardenas has reached out to House Democrats to assert that he is innocent, per three Democratic aides.
Glaser has blasted the allegations and characterized them as “baseless and reckless.” She also said the claims can “ruin the lives and careers of innocent people” and said the woman who filed the suit is the “daughter of a disgruntled former employee and may be the victim of manipulation.”
Multiple lawmakers have been accused of sexual misconduct since last fall, including former Rep. Blake Farenthold of Texas, a Republican, and former Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota, a Democrat. Both Farenthold and Franken resigned amid their respective controversies.
