Rep. Pat Meehan, R-Penn., has decided to not seek re-election this year following reports that he settled a sexual harassment case with a former staffer by using taxpayer funds.
"Unfortunately, recent events concerning my office and the settlement of certain harassment allegations have become a major distraction," the four-term congressman told his campaign chairman in a letter, according to The Washington Post.
A recent report from The New York Times described a complaint against Meehan by a former aide which said that the congressman became hostile toward her after she did not respond to his romantic interest before she eventually left the position.
After filing a complaint last year, the unnamed former aide reached a confidential agreement with Meehan's office, which granted her an undisclosed fee which would be paid from his congressional office fund.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., removed Meehan from the House Ethics Committee after the Times' report.
"I need to own it because it is my own conduct that fueled the matter. … It is clear to me, that under the current conditions, any campaign I would run would not be decided over vital issues but would likely devolve into an ugly spectacle of harsh rhetoric. I do not believe that is in the best interest of the constituents I represent," he wrote.
Meehan went on to deny the accusations against him, but admits that "I am not trying to evade responsibility when something crosses the line. Most importantly, I must acknowledge that it is not how I feel about a conversation, but to appreciate how that conversation can put another person in an uncomfortable place."
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