The Washington Examiner reported Monday night that Democrat presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand kept a man on her payroll three months after he resigned in 2017 due to a sexual harassment claim against him.
This happened a year before one aide resigned due to Gillibrand mishandling her sexual harassment claim against another top aide. Gillibrand also kept that aide on her payroll.
From The Washington Examiner:
Marc Brumer, 32, the New York Democrat’s communications director, resigned from Gillibrand’s staff in spring 2017 after making at least one sexist remark that distressed and offended a more junior woman who worked as a scheduler, two former Gillibrand aides told the Washington Examiner.But Brumer continued to be paid despite his misconduct. He was not dismissed and was kept on Gillibrand’s staff. He remained on the senator’s payroll “for about three months after the incident, even though he didn’t do any work,” one former aide said.
Brumer told the publication he apologized. He also told his friends that his comment “could have been seen as inappropriate,” but he did not intend it to be “sexist or upset the scheduler.”
The Washington Examiner learned from former Gillibrand employees that “it was common to hear inappropriate sexual conversations in the workplace.” One explained:
One of the former Gillibrand staffers told the Washington Examiner that what Brumer said was far from uncommon. “It was so frequent and sanctioned basically by the chief [of staff],” the ex-aide said. “I heard so many off-color remarks from, like, everybody in the office. … It was so common, that it was just like, so you’re firing someone? Why is today the day? Because you’re running for president, or [a journalist] is reaching out to you?”The former staffer said Gillibrand knew what happened in her office and how complaints were dealt with. “She’s most definitely aware of what goes on in the office. She’s most definitely aware of what people complain about, or [when they] file a complaint,” the aide said.
Her spokesman said:
“Here are the facts: this employee was reprimanded immediately, he offered his resignation and it was accepted. He was never in the office again and was told to work from home to transition his responsibilities after his deputy was elevated to his job and began three months of paid maternity leave. The Senator was proud to promote an outstanding woman from within the office prior to her taking leave.”
A Politico report revealed last week that one aide resigned in the summer of 2018 after the office mishandled her sexual harassment claim against Abbas Malik, who worked as one of Gillibrand’s closest aides.
Gillibrand has tried to convince people that she has handled sexual harassment complaints in her office to the best of her ability. She told a town hall the other day that she made sure the aide who resigned in 2018 knew “she was believed, her allegations were taken seriously.”
Malik remained on the job until a Politico article from three weeks ago exposed more complaints against him.
Gillibrand then fired him.
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