Sen. Ben Cardin's office on Saturday confirmed that an aide has been fired after reports and video surfaced of him being engaged with another man in a graphic sex act filmed in a Senate hearing room.
The Maryland Democrat's office initially on Friday called the video a "personnel matter," but Saturday confirmed to Politico in a statement that the man, identified as Aidan Maese-Czeropski, was "no longer employed by the U.S. Senate" and that there would be "no further comment on this personnel matter."
The video, posted by The Daily Caller, shows the men having sex in what appears to be Room 216 in the Hart Senate Office Building.
The room is likely one of the more-recognized sites in the building as it is where the 9/11 Commission hearings were held, as well as where ex-FBI Director James Comey testified against then-President Donald Trump in 2017, reports Politico.
The video was shared in a group chat involving gay men in politics. Initially, the Senate aide wasn't identified but has since been named as Maese-Czeropski. The other man in the video has not been identified.
Attempts to reach Maese-Czeropski were not successful, but he posted on his LinkedIn account Friday that he is exploring his legal options in the matter.
"This has been a difficult time for me, as I have been attacked for who I love to pursue a political agenda," he said. "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 characterize my actions otherwise are fabricated."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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