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Report: Farenthold Won’t Seek Re-Election After Male Former Aide Reveals More Inappropriate Behavior

Report: Farenthold Won’t Seek Re-Election After Male Former Aide Reveals More Inappropriate Behavior

Farenthold allegedly told Rekola that his fiancée better “blow you before she walks down the aisle — it will be the last time.”

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blake_Farenthold_2015.jpg

The local ABC station in Victoria, TX, has reported that Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) will not seek re-election. The station is currently trying to receive more information from his office. His term ends on January 20, 2019.

The news comes a day after Michael Rekola, Farenthold’s former communications director in 2015, has come forward to reveal the improper behavior towards him from Farenthold, including sexual jokes about his then-fiancée.

Will He Not Run?

Probably. Over at Texas Tribune, Abby Livingston reported that Farenthold started to lose support from the Republican delegation in Texas:

In the first overt sign that U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, is losing support among his Republican colleagues in the Texas delegation, the embattled congressman’s most prominent primary challenger announced the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Austin, late Wednesday.

A news release from the campaign of former Texas Water Development Board Chairman Bech Bruun announced Williams’ support.

“At a time when the Coastal Bend faces serious challenges in the on-going recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey, Congressional District 27 needs effective leadership now more than ever,” Williams said in the release.

Livingston tweeted that one should “assume news is coming when nobody answers your calls.” She also said:

However, the state’s deadline to file for the primary was on Monday and Farenthold didn’t withdraw, which means his name will be on the ballot. Texas Tribune reporter Patrick Svitek tweeted out how that could change:

Rekola’s Transition to Farenthold’s Office

Females have started to speak out about sexual misconduct and improper behavior on Capital Hill. Earlier this month, Politico revealed that taxpayers paid $84,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit between Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) and Lauren Greene, a former female employee.

But it’s not only females who have experienced harassment.

Rekola used to work for Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), but went to Farenthold’s office “in December 2014 with an explicit mandate to help create positive headlines for the congressman.” Apparently the coverage of the former female aide’s lawsuit against him fueled his “erratic and volatile behavior.” CNN continued:

“Every time he didn’t like something, he would call me a f**ktard or idiot. He would slam his fist down in rage and explode in anger,” Rekola said. “He was flying off the handle on every little thing. I couldn’t find a way to control it.”

Farenthold also frequently made lewd comments about the appearance of women including reporters and lobbyists, Rekola said, remarking on the size of women’s breasts and buttocks. Some of Rekola’s colleagues joked about being on “redhead patrol” — a reference to Farenthold’s well-known affinity for women with red hair (this detail was also described in Greene’s lawsuit against Farenthold).

Sexual Jokes About Rekola’s Fiancée

Rekola spoke to CNN:

One comment from the congressman was especially personal. Rekola was about to leave town to get married in July 2015, when, he said, Farenthold, standing within earshot of other staffers in his Capitol Hill office, said to the groom-to-be: “Better have your fiancée blow you before she walks down the aisle — it will be the last time.” He then proceeded to joke about whether Rekola’s now-wife could wear white on her wedding day — a clear reference, Rekola said, to whether she had had premarital sex.

“I was disgusted and I left. I walked out,” Rekola said. Almost immediately after returning from his wedding, he gave his two-weeks notice.

That was only one time. Rekola described to CNN that Farenthold would flip into “screaming fits of rage, slamming fists on desks.” He regularly called his aides “f*cktards,” which his former co-worker Elizabeth Pearce confirmed:

Elizabeth Peace was hired to help with Farenthold’s communications efforts in May 2015 when Rekola was sometimes out of the office to deal with his stomach ailment. Peace, who eventually became a full-time communications director, confirmed in an interview that Farenthold regularly called aides “f**ktards.” She also said she was present when Farenthold made the oral sex comment about Rekola’s then-fiancée.

“Every staffer in that area heard it,” Peace said. “It was the most shocking thing I’d heard him say at that point.”

Peace said that Farenthold never sexually harassed her, but the sexual jokes were a regular thing in the office and she heard him make comments about how women dressed ands their appearances, “including which congresswomen Farenthold found to be unattractive.”

Other friends spoke to CNN and confirmed that they would walk around with Rekola on the Hill as he described the abuse in Farenthold’s office:

“The conversations were often about inappropriate things that he would say, whether it was sexual humor or really abusive in terms of shouting and overall anger that’s not professional,” the friend said. “It’s not the way to treat someone else who’s working for you.”

Health Problems

Rekola started to have stomach issues in the spring of 2015. After Farenthold lashed out at Rekola for social media posts he didn’t like, the aide passed out in the bathroom. Testing occurred in D.C. and doctors determined that “Rekola’s recent history of ‘anxiety, stress, reduction in eating,’ among other factors, could be a cause of his stomach acid triggered problems.

He said he had great health when he started working for Farenthold, but it all went downhill after that with daily stomach pains and vomiting. The lawmaker recalled it differently:

“We accommodated him by giving him time to go to the doctor, letting him work from home, and roughly a year after he left our office, he came in and spoke with a number of my aides, delighted that the doctors had finally found out what was causing his stomach distress,” Farenthold said. “It was not stress related, but we recall him saying he was allergic to anything he ate.”

Rekola said he visited former colleagues at Farenthold’s office a handful of times after leaving his job. He said that he was recently tested for food allergies and is allergic to some things. While there is no way to know for sure the exact cause of Rekola’s medical problems, he said his doctor and therapist believed the stomach illness likely stemmed from stress.

Farenthold’s Explanation

Farenthold told CNN he never made the oral sex or white wedding dress comments about Farenthold’s then-fiancée. He did admit to using the word f*cktard:

In a response to questions from CNN, Farenthold denied in a statement ever making comments to Rekola about receiving oral sex from his then-fiancée or whether she could wear a white dress. He acknowledged that he regularly referred to aides as “f**ktards,” but that it was “in jest, not in anger.”

“In hindsight, I admit it wasn’t appropriate,” Farenthold said. He also denied that he engaged in regular verbal abuse of his staff.

Important Reminder

Rekola’s account is an important reminder that improper behavior and sexual misconduct aren’t exclusive to females. There are male victims, too.

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Comments

Another important reminder – improper behavior and sexual misconduct isn’t exclusive to men. There are women who harass men and women.

I remember stories about the behavior of Hillary Clinton towards the Secret Service.

    Olinser in reply to Liz. | December 14, 2017 at 4:42 pm

    Frankly that’s something that I literally never comprehended.

    I mean I understand completely why the stupid, arrogant, entitled rich people like the Clintons treated normal people like they were disgusting bugs that existed only to serve them.

    But I literally can’t comprehend why you would mistreat people whose sole duty is to SAFEGUARD YOUR LIFE.

    You don’t have to praise them and put them on pedestals – Obama barely acknowledged they existed, and that’s perfectly fine, they just quietly do their jobs.

    But to actually actively MISTREAT them just blows my brain, and to me was the single greatest indicator that Hillary was just too plain stupid and incompetent to ever accomplish anything meaningful.

Rekola sounds like a Millennial baby.

Someone posted this Job interview and it hit the mark.

https://vimeo.com/239050403

Farenthold sounds like the typical jerk that says stuff to get attention, but come on. The PC stuff is going to rob us of colorful discussions.

Do we live in denial of what we are or not. When I was growing up, if you dressed improper, people told you about it.

Farenthold should have just fired his ass and then we would have not had to listen to this stupid stuff.

Please stop these people from dragging us in to their pathetic lives of hurt and anxiety. We are all not a bunch of 8 year olds.

Mental Health day my a$$.

    Close The Fed in reply to MarkSmith. | December 14, 2017 at 11:04 am

    Re: Mark Smith’s comments:

    I totally agree. Sexual banter is part of life. The rage part, calling employees “f*s” is far far less acceptable. Hillary had the RAGE thing going pretty well.

    It would have been so good if her fits of rage had come out earlier and more often. She was sooooo well protected by those around her and the press.

    Americans are afraid to speak of anything but the weather. This is wrong, and reeks of despotism.

      Ragspierre in reply to Close The Fed. | December 14, 2017 at 11:13 am

      Really? You’d chuckle when your employer talked in filthy terms about your bride? THAT is expected “banter”?

      I’d have knocked his teeth out.

        TX-rifraph in reply to Ragspierre. | December 14, 2017 at 11:16 am

        That should be the response to bullies.

          tom_swift in reply to TX-rifraph. | December 14, 2017 at 11:30 am

          Sounds to me like the response of bullies.

          I’ve punched my fair share of people who I believed deserved it. But saying something I found offensive is not what made anyone deserve it.

        TX-rifraph in reply to Ragspierre. | December 14, 2017 at 11:29 am

        Actually, if I had ever talked like that about your bride, I would have EXPECTED you to knock my teeth out. Or worse.

        Seriously, can you imagine a man taking that kind of abuse from a pasty doughboy like this chump? Much of what ills our society these days could be easily solved with the occasional judicious ass-whipping.

        We are discovering that Congress doesn’t have a proper Human Resources department. However, they expect that corporations have one to deal with these problems.

        In most corporations, the employees complaints about the supervisor should be discussed with HR. And, to physically attack a person based on words would be a firing offense.

          Ragspierre in reply to Liz. | December 14, 2017 at 2:01 pm

          Knocking his teeth out would constitute a resignation.

          “You can’t fire me; I QUIT!”

          Oh, and there really are such things as “fighting words”. At least in the world of men.

        MarkSmith in reply to Ragspierre. | December 14, 2017 at 2:48 pm

        Really? You’d chuckle when your employer talked in filthy terms about your bride? THAT is expected “banter”?

        “I’d have knocked his teeth out.”

        That’s funny. I bet Rekola can’t throw a ball to home plate without grounding it. I grew up in a time when we call our best friends douche bags. It is banter! Get over it. Discussing it in public..geez …I just made my point, hang on for one boring ride for the rest of your life.

        Even if it was not banter, then I would have responded back at him like, “I guess it doesn’t sucks with you, you might want to be care with what information you share.”

        If you never heard the old joke “How do you stop a women from having sex….marry her!”

        Usually a good put down will disarm bullies like Farenthold.
        Depending on how you do it might even gain you a little respect with him.

        The C-Level execs I know did not get to the top by being nice guys, they know how to give out sh$t and get it.

        I don’t recommend assaulting anyone except in self defense. That has a whole new set of problems that could make your life complicated even if you are in the right.

        Tough talk usually is just that “talk”

        As for personal attacks, look at Rubio’s comment about Trump’s hands. Oh, did Trump go crying that Rubio was a bully and quit the race.

        If my employer was call me a f’tard and not firing me, then I am an idiot to keep working for him or that talk was just banter.

        I usually take talk like that as a sign of insecurity.

        After see a picture of Farenthold, I see that his next job can be the Pillsbury Dough Boy.

        Greene probably had a good case, but Rekola is just as bad as dough boy.

        Close The Fed in reply to Ragspierre. | December 14, 2017 at 5:32 pm

        Re: Rags’ comment re commenting on someone’s bride:

        Well, I’m a never married 58 year old female.

        I’ve heard many men comment through the years that after they married, the bjs ended.

        I practice tolerance for men. True, they’re all horn dogs, but they’re human too, and they keep the lights on and the roads smooth. How much more should I expect from them?

      No. Sexual banter should not be a part of life in the office. If two close friends want to talk amongst themselves in a way which others would find offensive, that’s their business. But in the office, especially between a superior and a subordinate, that is absolutely, positively out of line. That is harassment.

        MarkSmith in reply to Avraham. | December 14, 2017 at 3:11 pm

        Banter is part of the office and sometimes it is sexual. We are adult. Get over it unless it is really abusive like how Hillary’s anger rages were suppose to be. Sounds like dough boy was that way and settled it with Greene.

        I agree that the office should be pretty much a safe zone and a true gentleman does not talk that way around ladies.

        There are just as many women that say crude thing as men.

        From what I am reading, sounds like Farenthold was out of control.

        Rekola a cry baby wimp.

This highlights the fact that it is not the sex banter, but the bullying by bosses and people in power.

I am glad we are addressing foul language and jokes but if we do this it better be across the board. Hollywood leads with repulsive jokes and language, no one is teaching manners anymore, etc. This is a bigger cultural issue but I don’t think it should be equated with sexual harassment. That is a very different thing and it needs to be kept that way.

a) All of this empowers the media to destroy people.
b) All of this is trivializing real sexual harassment and real victims. Real victims are being used as political tools of the left.
c) Could all of these trivial claims be an effort to destroy the culture only to install Utopia? This nonsense is desensitizing people to real sexual harassment that is a real and serious problem.

What is the end state for our culture when no man dares to speak to anybody or go near a women? Or, will the real people (adults) put an end to this before it is too late?

    MarkSmith in reply to TX-rifraph. | December 14, 2017 at 3:21 pm

    Ding, ding, you get the prize.

    Do I really want to hire a women to work for me if she could take the most trivial statement as harassment?

    I gave co-worker women rides home. I guess I can’t do that any more. Same with my kids. In scouts you have to have two parents to watch each other. Sometimes that is a real pain when you need to get five kids someplace fast.

    This is so much a distraction for the real problems we need to deal with. I known many a women who were really sexually abused (Like one that said she was abused by her brothers and father).

    The liberal media stokes this abuse with their books and movies. Hypocrites!

confirmed in an interview that Farenthold regularly called aides “f**ktards.”

It’s a pretty rare story which has only one side.

However, even from this side, the only one we’ve heard, I’d guess that Farenthold is right. His aides are “f**ktards.

This is far past the point of trying to root out institutional sexual abuse. Now they’re just having fun seeing how far they can drive the stampede. NO, free speech is not “violence”, using descriptive terms like “colored” or “Oriental” is NOT “racism”, lowering taxes is NOT stealing from The Poor, and a rude and bad-tempered boss is NOT a serial “sexual abuser”.

Next they’ll be fining cat owners for not buying dog licenses. Cats aren’t dogs, and no deluge of breathless news reports can turn them into cats. But the Alinsky fans will try. Once they have society on the run—ideally, with an initially legitimate complaint—they never stop.

    MarkSmith in reply to tom_swift. | December 14, 2017 at 3:35 pm

    “His aides are “f**ktards.”

    I agree. I have a funny feeling that nobody want to work for obnoxious Farenthold so the Farenthold office became the lost misfit toy world of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.

Except for the man’s constituents, who really cares about the Congressman’s behavior? If you don’t like someone’s behavior, don’t work for them. It’s a free country, after all. If the behavior is egregious enough, people will stop seeking positions in his office and he will have no staff to abuse. Problem solved.

This is all about people using anything negative that they can come up with to destroy another person. And, it is supported by all the Bertha Better-than-yous out there who want, or need, too feel morally superior to others.

Bring on the corroborated charges of real sexual assault and sexual harassment and leave the rest of this whining alone. Our media is becoming nothing more than the national Enquirer of the 1970s. Next, the NYT will be telling us that Batboy is Mitch McConnell’s love child and works in a McDonald’s in Goergetwon Ky. And we can get all worked up about that as well.

taxpayers paid $84,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit between Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) and Lauren Greene, a former female employee.

That seems like a good reason to get rid of him to me.

    Petrushka in reply to elle. | December 14, 2017 at 1:28 pm

    There’s always more. Except when there’s less.

    When the worst thing you’ve got is, he looked at me while I was naked under my clothes, there’s probably less.

    The people who are losing their jobs are bullies, and sex is just the medium in which they are snared.

      The people who are losing their jobs are bullies, and sex is just the medium in which they are snared.

      That’s a good point and probably true in most cases. Although I do think some of them are just total pervs and their behavior is like that of a drug addict. But even then, it would still be true that they bully to get what they want.

        MarkSmith in reply to elle. | December 14, 2017 at 3:32 pm

        …it would still be true that they bully to get what they want.

        So would aggressive people that get want they want be bullies?

        At some point in your life I bet you were kicked in the ass by a “bully” that actually made you stronger. That tough coach. That tough teacher that would not you give you a break so you studied harder.

        So what is missing is what really is a bully? It has a new meaning to include everything that make you feel uncomfortable.

        Sometimes that comfortableness is required to get stuff done.

    MarkSmith in reply to elle. | December 14, 2017 at 3:40 pm

    taxpayers paid $84,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit,/i.

    Shoot, that is 1/2 pennies on the dollar. Obamacare is costing me 20K more that it should a year! Stay focused.

    I would be more concerns about the million being spent on dung beatle sexually habit grants.

    The 84 K is probably cheaper than the million that would have been spent on taking the case to court.

    Yes, in a perfect would there would be no Dough Boys.

Drudge says Ly’n Ryan will be leaving DC! Trump really is draining the swamp.

Hey, maybe he’ll give all the people endorsing accusation = guilt here another dead body to boast about, like the Kentucky representative.

I mean, without 24/7/365 surveillance, he’s in the same “can’t prove a negative” position you endorsed with Judge Moore.

    Ragspierre in reply to SDN. | December 14, 2017 at 4:13 pm

    Nope. Really unlikely. The Kentucky guy was very likely dirty, just like Roy “Jail-bait” Moore.

    The voters decideded. In the case of the Kentucky mope, he decided.