Rep. Katie Hill, freshman targeted by revenge porn, resigns with a blast at Trump
During her final speech on the House floor Thursday, Rep. Katie Hill apologized for actions that led to her resignation while also boasting that her last vote as a member of Congress was in favor of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump.
“I wanted to show young people, queer people, working people, imperfect people that they belong here, because this is the people’s house. I fell short of that and I’m sorry. To every young person who saw themselves and their dreams reflected in me, I’m sorry. To those who felt like I gave them hope in one of the darkest times in our nation’s history, I’m sorry. To my family, my friends, my staff, my colleagues, my mentors, to everyone who’s supported and believed in me, I’m sorry.”
She continued: “And to every little girl who looked up to me, I hope that one day you can forgive me.”
Days earlier, the first-term California lawmaker had announced her resignation after nude photos of her were leaked to media outlets amid allegations of an improper sexual relationship with a subordinate.
While Hill admitted to a relationship with a female campaign staffer during the final years of what she called an “abusive marriage,” she denied having a relationship with a congressional aide — a more serious charge that would constitute a violation of House ethics rules.
The 32-year-old Democrat, who is openly bisexual, said the nude photos published by a conservative website and a British tabloid, and the potential that more might be released, were major factors in her decision to resign.
“I’m leaving because there is only one investigation that deserves this country’s attention,” Hill said, referring to the impeachment inquiry that the House voted hours earlier to formalize.
“The forces of revenge by a bitter, jealous man, cyber-exploitation, and sexual shaming that target our gender and a large segment of society that fears and hates powerful women have combined to push a young woman out of power and say that she doesn’t belong here,” Hill said. “Yet a man who brags about his sexual predation, who’s had dozens of women come forward to accuse him of sexual assault, who pushes policies that are uniquely harmful to women and who has filled the courts with judges who proudly rule to deprive women of the most fundamental right to control their own bodies, sits in the highest office in the land.
“And so today, as my last vote, I voted on impeachment proceedings, not just because of corruption, obstruction of justice or gross misconduct, but because of the deepest abuse of power, including the abuse of power over women.”
The scandal around Hill’s resignation had raised questions about targeting by right-wing political operatives and her ex-husband.
“I’m leaving now because of a double standard,” she said in her speech. “I’m leaving now because I no longer want to be used as a bargaining chip. I’m leaving because I didn’t want to be peddled by papers and blogs and websites used by shameless operatives for the dirtiest gutter politics that I’ve ever seen, and the right-wing media to drive clicks and expand their audience by distributing intimate photos of me taken without my knowledge, let alone my consent, for the sexual entertainment of millions.”
She added: “I’m leaving, but we have men who have been credibly accused of intentional acts of sexual violence and remain in boardrooms, on the Supreme Court, in this very body and, worst of all, in the Oval Office.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at a press conference before the House vote that she respected Hill and was saddened by her decision to resign, but she also saw it as a useful lesson to young people to avoid situations that could someday be the subject of so-called “revenge porn.”
“Katie Hill’s decision to resign is her decision,” she said. “She’s an absolutely outstanding young public servant — very smart, strategic, patriotic, loves our country, respected by her colleagues in the Congress for the work that she does here.”
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