The House Committee on Ethics has dismissed a complaint against U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva related to a settlement with a former staffer who accused the Tucson Democrat of being drunk on the job.
The committee unanimously voted to clear Grijalva of an allegation he misspent taxpayer money in his 2015 settlement with the former employee, says a letter dated Dec. 14.
The letter was signed by the committee’s chairwoman, Indiana Republican Susan Brooks, and its ranking member, Florida Democrat Theodore Deutch.
“The committee reviewed the OCE (Office of Congressional Ethics) referral. As a result of its review, the Committee unanimously voted to dismiss the allegation referred by OCE, consistent with OCE’s recommendation,” the letter read, without elaborating.
Grijalva — who is bound by confidential agreement related to the settlement — has repeatedly said the settlement isn’t related in any way to sexual harassment and that he has never been drunk on the job.
“From the beginning, I’ve been transparent with how this process was handled, and the Ethics Committee unanimously agreed,” Grijalva said. “While this dismissal does not make the allegations go away, it minimizes the lies associated with them and is a chance to move forward.”
The allegation against Grijalva was first made public last year. The settlement stems from a former employee of the House Natural Resources Committee who worked for him for three months before threatening to file a hostile-workplace lawsuit.
At the time, Grijalva’s office stopped paying the woman in an effort to force a settlement, which eventually was reached. Under the settlement she received her salary for five more months — a total of $48,395.
The allegation against Grijalva resurfaced last week when Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke attacked him for it on social media after Grijalva called on Zinke to resign over ethics investigations.
President Trump announced last week that Zinke would step down by the end of the year.
