Another ex-senior aide to Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, is speaking out against the lawmaker and has contacted the House Ethic Committee, accusing the Farenthold of promoting a hostile work environment and for making sexually graphic comments.
Farenthold’s former communications director, Michael Rekola, claims Farenthold was abusive and as a result required him to seek medical treatment and psychological counseling, CNN reported Wednesday.
Rekola recounted that prior to his wedding in 2015, Farenthold made a comment in from of other staff members, “Better have your fiance blow you before she walks down the aisle — it will be the last time.”
Farenthold also allegedly took a shot at Rekola’s fiance about wearing white, alluding to whether or not she had had premarital sex.
Elizabeth Peace, who was hired in May 2015 to assist with Farenthold’s communications team, corroborated Rekola’s account.
Rekola said he was “disgusted and left,” and upon returning from his wedding he turned in his two weeks notice.
Rekola also said that Farenthold would subject his staffers to verbally abusive behavior. He would scream and pound his fist on desks and chastise aides and call them “fucktards.”
Peace confirmed Farenthold called aides “fucktards” and Farenthold admitted he had used the term, but claimed it was “in jest, not in anger.”
“In hindsight, I admit it wasn’t appropriate,” he said in a statement to CNN. He denied making comments to Rekola about his fiance performing oral sex and if she could wear a white dress.
Rekola said Farenthold would have fits of rage over seemingly minor mistakes or oversights.
“Every time he didn’t like something, he would call me a fucktard or idiot. He would slam his fist down in rage and explode in anger,” Rekola said. “He was flying off the handle on every little thing. I couldn’t find a way to control it.”
Rekola contacted the House Ethic Committee about the behavior last week and wrote to a top aid of chairwoman of the panel, Rep. Susan Brooks, R-Ind., that he would like to provide the committee “examples of sexually inappropriate comments” from Farenthold and testify to the “emotionally damaging” and “intimidating” actions exhibited by Farenthold.
The committee is conducting a probe concerning sexual harassment allegations from another one of Farenthold’s former staffers. It was reported Wednesday that the committee has empaneled a bipartisan group of lawmakers to investigate Farenthold, who already faces allegations of sexual harassment by a former female employee who received an $84,000 payout over her claim.
Several other members of Congress, including Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., have recently resigned from their posts due to allegations of sexual misconduct.
