Kihuen Accuser Says She Reported Sexual Harassment to DCCC 20 Months Before Going to the Media

BY: Katelyn Caralle Follow
@Katelyn_Caralle

December 8, 2017 10:59 am

The woman who accused Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D., Nev.) of sexual harassment says she provided the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee with information about the congressman’s alleged misconduct well over a year before recently sharing her story with BuzzFeed News, but her complaints were never addressed.

Samantha, who asked for her last name to be omitted, told a local CBS affiliate in Las Vegas that she reported her sexual harassment complaints to a mid-level staffer at the DCCC in April 2016, alleging that Kihuen, then a congressional candidate, repeatedly harassed and made sexual advances toward her.

Samantha, working as Kihuen’s campaign finance director at the time, said the candidate would touch her thigh without consent, ask her inappropriate questions like if she would ever cheat on her boyfriend, and said in a few instances he would “take me out if I didn’t work for him.”

Upon hearing this information, the DCCC staffer asked Samantha, who was 25 at the time, what she wanted him to do about it. She expressed concern that campaign employees could lose their jobs since their employment depended on the candidate but never said she did not want the matter handled internally.

Samantha, who said Kihuen was making her feel uncomfortable and wanted to leave the campaign by February, hoped the DCCC would investigate Kihuen, ask him to drop out of the race, and have him replaced with another candidate.

Samantha never heard back from the DCCC about her complaints, however, and she left the campaign that month.

Kihuen was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2016.

Samantha said she was empowered by women coming forward with sexual assault allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and wanted to help other victims who are too afraid to come forward, leading her to share her story with BuzzFeed.

After the BuzzFeed article was published last week, Kihuen released a statement apologizing if he made her uncomfortable, but also said that he does not recall the instances that the story discussed.

The investigative team at KLAS-TV Channel 8, the local CBS affiliate in Las Vegas, learned that the DCCC never conducted an investigation into Samantha’s claims against Kihuen. The station also reported that no one from the DCCC ever contacted Samantha, nor did the staffer who she says she contacted return its calls.

Some 20 months after receiving Samantha’s complaints, the DCCC called for Kihuen’s resignation after the BuzzFeed article was published.

“We have strengthened our protections for campaign employees,” the DCCC said in a statement.

A spokesman for Kihuen said that his office has no further comment to offer and he is still not resigning from Congress.