Rep. Blake Farenthold denies many of former press aideâs accusations
Texas GOP Rep. Blake Farenthold has denied most of the salacious accusations lodged against him by a former press aide who is suing him over her firing. But Farenthold did admit that he was propositioned by a woman to be part of a âthreesome.â And House lawyers acting on Farentholdâs behalf acknowledged in a Thursday court filing that some of his aides âoccasionally joked that Rep. Farenthold finds redheads attractive, but denies the allegation and implication that this was a source for, or cause of, concern for any staffer.â Story Continued Below These revelations about Farenthold have been disclosed as part of his defense against a lawsuit brought by Lauren Greene, his former communications director, for gender discrimination, creating a hostile work environment, and improperly retaliating against Greene after she complained. Greene worked in Farentholdâs office from Jan. 2013 to July 2014, according to congressional payroll records. Among her other claims, Greene asserted that Farenthold told her he was âestranged from his wife and had not had sex with her in years,â drank heavily, and told another staffer that he fantasized about Greene. Farenthold admitted that he and his chief of staff, Bob Haueter, as well as another female aide, were concerned that Greeneâs âflimsy clothingâ was revealing but denied that he said to another staffer that it was acceptable for Greene to wear such outfits. Farentholdâs congressional lawyers said in their response to Greeneâs lawsuit that she was âinformed of the decision to terminate her employment the day after [Greene] failed to report to work and appear for multiple media events.â Farentholdâs defense team also asserted that because of Greeneâs âinadequate job performance as Communications Director, Rep. Farenthold, Mr. Haueter, and other [staffers] were forced to perform a significant amount of [Greeneâs] work for her.â Farentholdâs congressional lawyers said Greeneâs lawsuit was too vague and that Greene failed to properly engage in mediation and counseling required under the Congressional Accountability Act, which placed lawmakers under the same workplace regulations as other employers. In addition, the House lawyers raised the prospect that Farenthold may use the âSpeech or Debate Clauseâ as a defense to fend off some accusations. Under that constitutional clause, lawmakers and aides cannot face legal action for legitimate legislative activities, although its use in employment discrimination cases has long been controversial.