Katie Hill (D-Ca) is considered a rising star in the Democratic party. The California Congresswoman serves as vice-chair of the House Oversight Committee. So, of course conservatives need to drag her name through the mud.

The right-wing publication Red State recently published charges that Hill was having an affair with a staffer in her office. Hill has denied these allegations.

She said the accusations are coming from her divorce from “an abusive husband.”

“The fact is I am going through a divorce from an abusive husband who seems determined to try to humiliate me. I am disgusted that my opponents would seek to exploit such a private matter for political gain,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.

“This coordinated effort to try to destroy me and people close to me is despicable and will not succeed,” she added. “I, like many women who have faced attacks like this before, am stronger than those who want me to be afraid.”

All this has forced the House Ethics Committee to begin an investigation. They announced their plans last night:

“The Committee is aware of public allegations that Representative Katie Hill may have engaged in a sexual relationship with an individual on her congressional staff, in violation of House Rule XXIII, clause 18 (a),” Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), the committee’s chairman, and Rep. Kenny Marchant (Texas), the top Republican on the panel, said in a statement.

“The Committee notes that the mere fact that it is investigating these allegations, and publicly disclosing its review, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee,” they added.
Hill has denied the charges, but does admit to having a relationship with a campaign staffer during the campaign. While some may frown on this, there is no ethics violation pertaining to campaign staffers that is review-able or enforceable by the committee. It is only staffers in the legislative office that are of concern.
The charges about this alleged relationship came from texts between Hill’s ex-husband and an unidentified “friend.” As The Hill reports:
Hill was allegedly involved in a sexual relationship with a staff member, according to an article published last week in the conservative RedState, citing text messages involving Hill’s husband, Kenny Heslep.

An unidentified friend told Heslep in the text messages about an alleged relationship between Hill and Graham Kelly, her legislative director.

“Allegations that I have been involved in a relationship with Mr. Kelly are absolutely false,” Hill said Tuesday. “I am saddened that the deeply personal matter of my divorce has been brought into public view and the vindictive claims of my ex have now involved the lives and reputations of unrelated parties.”

RedState also published a nude photo of Hill, who identifies as bisexual, with an individual the publication described as a female campaign staffer. Hill has since said the U.S. Capitol Police are investigating how the photo was obtained and published by RedState.

The Oversight Committee that Hill serves on is one of the key committees that are involved in the impeachment investigation of Donald Trump. A few days ago, Trump said in a press conference that Republicans haven’t been aggressive enough in defending him in that investigation. Whether or not this is related to those complaints by the president is unknown, but it is easy to speculate that Trump is likely pleased with this attempted take down of a key committee member — especially one who cause his party to lose the majority in the House of Representatives last year.
Yesterday, Trump referred to some of his critics as “human scum.”