Democrat Katie Porter accused of ridiculing those concerned about sexual harassment in her office, mocking COVID victims
Democratic Rep. Katie Porter of California has been accused by a former staffer of denigrating people for "reporting sexual harassment" and of other demeaning remarks.
These claims come just days after text messages leaked indicating Porter may have fired a staffer over her COVID-19 diagnosis.
What are the details?
The Huffington Post noted in 2018 that Porter, endorsed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Vice President Kamala Harris, was previously in an abusive relationship and subjected to sexual harassment at home.
Despite Porter's possible personal insights into the gravity of the issue, one of her former staffers, Sasha Georgiades, indicated that the Democratic congresswoman berated at least one other staffer who had reported sexual harassment in her office, reported Fox News Digital.
A U.S. Navy veteran and former Wounded Warrior fellow for Porter, Georgiades suggested the congresswoman "ridiculed people for reporting sexual harassment."
Georgiades said one staffer, who has yet to "file anything with [the] ethics committee," spoke about the matter of sexual harassment in the congresswoman's office with Porter personally.
Porter "basically told the individual to grow up," said Georgiades, prompting the staffer to leave her post shortly thereafter.
Extra to allegedly dissuading people from highlighting potential abuse in her office, Georgiades said Porter "made fun of individuals whose parents passed away from COVID."
While COVID suffered by others may be a laughing matter for the Democrat representative, the laughing evidently stops at her front door. TheBlaze previously reported that Georgiades was apparently fired over her COVID-19 diagnosis that led to Porter's infection.
A leaked text message exchange appears to show Porter ousting the Navy veteran — who for two years served her office — over her alleged "failure to follow office policies."
The Twitter account Dear White Staffers, allegedly operated by black and indigenous congressional staffers, shared the messages:
\u201cVIBE CHECK: Rep. Katie Porter fires staffer after both test positive for COVID. Full texts from the Congresswoman firing the staffer via text. Shared with permission from staffer.\u201d— Dear White Staffers (@Dear White Staffers) 1672334282
Georgiades suggested to Reason that at the time, she had figured herself sore from exercise, given that she hits the gym just about daily. Accordingly, she had not taken a COVID-19 despite feeling slightly unwell. This, she indicated, amount to a violation of the office's protocol on testing.
Upon Porter notifying Georgiades via text of her dismissal, the Navy veteran wrote, "I hate to have disappointed you in the manner, as I know it isn't an excuse I had found out my friend from the navy had been murdered and my head was not in the best place. Not an excuse but the reasoning for the lack of forethought. I appreciate everything this office has done for me."
Porter apparently wrote back, "Well you gave me Covid. In 25 months, it took you not following the rules to get me sick."
It would appear, based on anonymous complaints shared by Dear White Staffers, that Georgiades was not alone in suffering Porter's personality.
One complaint from a purported anonymous staffer claimed that "sexual harassment is not taken seriously and is swept under the rug" in Porter's office.
\u201cMORE: Former Rep. Katie Porter staffers speaking out and confirming or corroborating previous posts. \ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffe\u201d— Dear White Staffers (@Dear White Staffers) 1672334282
Another complaint suggested, "Katie Porter is abusive. Unable to cope with basic demands of being a member so she takes it out [on] staff. Says rude/racist things (anti-black esp) and tries to mask it as edgy humor."
Porter "was always screaming at her staffers over the phone during her fundraising call time. ... I love her, but I've never hated my life more than when I worked for her. I've worked for many reps, and her campaign has more turnover, more burnt out 22-25 year olds that I've ever seen. Including myself," said yet another anonymous complaint.
It is not only past and present staffers who appear to be concerned about the Democratic congresswoman's conduct and speech.
Porter complained during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on Dec. 14 that terms like "pedophile" and "groomer" are rooted in bigotry that discriminates against LGBT "sexual orientation" and "gender identity," reported TheBlaze.
\u201cRep. Katie Porter (D-CA) says that the terms "groomer and pedophile allege that a person is criminal somehow merely because of their sexual orientation and gender identity" and laments that Twitter allowed groomer "to reach 72 million users."\u201d— Greg Price (@Greg Price) 1671042003
Porter said, "The 'groomer' narrative is an age-old lie to position LGBTQ+ people as a threat to kids, and what it does is deny them access to public spaces, it stokes fear, and can even stoke violence."
She then suggested that those on Twitter accusing people of being groomers and pedophiles are thereby alleging they are criminals or "engaged in criminal acts merely because of their identity — their sexual orientation, their gender identity [—] is clearly prohibited under Twitter's content."
While liberal media outlets, including CNN, attempted to defend what Porter "actually said," Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas suggested Porter was "pushing for pedophilia normalization."
\u201cKatie Porter just said that pedophilia isn\u2019t a crime, she said it\u2019s an \u201cidentity.\u201d THIS IS THE EMBODIMENT OF EVIL! The sad thing is that this woman isn't the only VILE person pushing for pedophilia normalization. This is what progressives believe!\u201d— Ronny Jackson (@Ronny Jackson) 1671127664
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