Former Rep. Blake Farenthold resigned in disgrace from Congress last month after it became clear that he was about to be punished for ethics violations. he had been accused of sexual harassment and gender discrimination -- and the taxpayers forked over $84,000 to settle the complaint against him. He said he would repay the money.
Now he has a new $160,000 a year job as a lobbyist, and has decided he's NOT going to repay the taxpayers.
Does that surprise you? If so, then you haven't been paying attention to the quality of Republican officials that Texas has been sending to the U.S. Congress.
The following is part of an article from ABC News:
Former Rep. Blake Farenthold, the disgraced Texas Republican who resigned last month in the aftermath of a sexual harassment settlement, has secured his next paid gig – as a government lobbyist. But even though he’s going to be raking in a reported six-figure salary, Farenthold told ABC News that he has no intention of repaying an $84,000 sexual harassment settlement funded by taxpayers.
Farenthold told a Corpus Christi, Texas talk radio station Monday that he’s accepted a position as a “legislative liaison” at the Calhoun Port Authority, previously known as the Port of Port Lavaca-Point Comfort. Farenthold’s hiring announcement was first reported by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
Reached via phone Tuesday morning by ABC News, Farenthold declined to comment on his new job.
“I’m a private citizen now, so I’m not commenting about my employment,” Farenthold said.
Farenthold then made clear that he has no intention of repaying an $84,000 taxpayer settlement stemming from a 2014 complaint by a former congressional aide alleging sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation.
“I will say this on the record: I have been advised by my attorneys not to repay that,” Farenthold told ABC. “That’s why it hasn’t been repaid.”
Farenthold refused to disclose his attorneys’ justification for that legal advice.