US senator ‘disappointed’ in gay staffer who allegedly had sex in Capitol hearing room (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
A US senator has expressed his anger and disappointment at a gay former staffer who allegedly recorded himself having sex in a Capitol Hill hearing room.
Maryland Democrat Ben Cardin said the incident – a leaked video of which shows a congressional staffer, who reportedly worked as an aide for Cardin, having sex in a senate hearing room – was a “breach of trust”, The Guardian reported.
The junior aide accused of being one of the men in the video, which was published by right-wing media outlet The Daily Caller on Friday (15 December), has been fired.
The media outlet reported that the footage was “shared in a private group for gay men in politics”.
Cardin told reporters on Monday (18 December): “It’s a tragic situation and it’s presented a lot of anger and frustration.
“I’m concerned about our staff, and the way that they feel about this, and the senate staff.”
While Cardin did not confirm the former staffer’s identity, his office previously released a statement to Politico claiming legislative aide Aidan Maese-Czeropski was “no longer employed by the US Senate”.
Maese-Czeropski, who had worked for Cardin for about 14 months, then posted a since-deleted statement on LinkedIn, reading: “This has been a difficult time for me, as I have been attacked for who I love, to pursue a political agenda.
“While some of my actions in the past have shown poor [judgment], I love my job and would never disrespect my workplace. Any attempts to characterise my actions otherwise are fabricated and I will be exploring what legal options are available to me in these matters.”
Democrat senator Amy Klobuchar, from Minnesota, in whose seat the men seen in the video allegedly had sex, told reporters that Cardin’s office “is dealing with it”.
US capitol police said they were aware of the matter and were looking into it.