Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida accused Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of misconduct on Thursday, which Gallego denied.
Luna advised CBS News’ “The Takeout with Major Garrett” that the Arizona Democrat was the beforehand unnamed senator whom she stated was going through “very disturbing” allegations in a cryptic social media submit earlier this week.
A Gallego spokesperson advised CBS News on Thursday: “These are right wing conspiracy theories being parroted by a fringe far right member of Congress. Senator Gallego has not received notification or been contacted by the ethics committee.”
CBS News has not verified the allegations.
Luna didn’t give a lot element in regards to the allegations, however she stated some of them are “sexual in nature” and a few of them contain alleged marketing campaign finance violations. She additionally stated Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s workplace confirmed to her that the matter is below investigation.
Luna referred to Gallego as a senator “that was very closely tied to Eric Swalwell,” a House Democrat who resigned from Congress this week following sexual misconduct allegations.
Luna stated “there is a woman that allegedly is coming forward with attorneys [and] wants to go on-record about an incident that occurred between the two of them at the same time, and the event was sexual in nature, allegedly.”
Pressed for additional particulars, Luna added that “I think any time that you are knowingly engaging in purchasing someone for sex, that that is something that should be taken seriously.”
Gallego has strongly denied wrongdoing in current days. He advised reporters earlier this week he has by no means engaged in any sexual misconduct or different inappropriate habits with workers or ladies outdoors of his marriage.
Gallego — who was mates with Swalwell however later known as for his expulsion from Congress — acknowledged earlier this week that he was conscious of rumors of Swalwell performing “flirty.” But he later stated that he’d “never heard actual accusations of harassment of staff or predatory behavior toward staff.” Gallego additionally stated he “fell for the lies.”
Hours earlier than Luna named Gallego, Thune advised reporters that he did not know whether or not the congresswoman’s allegations of “very disturbing” habits had been credible, however he stated it had been referred to the Senate’s Select Committee on Ethics. CBS News has reached out to the ethics panel for remark.
The saga comes simply days after Swalwell and his former GOP colleague, Rep. Tony Gonzales, formally resigned from the House inside hours of one another as stress mounted to expel them from the decrease chamber. Swalwell has been accused of sexual assault and sending unsolicited nude images, and Gonzales has been accused of having an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.
Luna has been outspoken about the necessity to crack down on allegations of misconduct, telling CBS News earlier this week that she expects different lawmakers to face related stress.
Christian Peña, Alan He and Nikole Killion contributed to this report.
