GOP rep facing sexual harassment claims says aide ‘invited’ behavior

Rep. Pat Meehan (R-Pa.) said Tuesday that the aide who accused him of sexual harassment had “invited” the behavior in question.

“That I would find later that that was not something that she was comfortable with, really hurts me,” Meehan told the The New York Times in an interview. “This was a person who specifically invited communication with me so that she would be able to have the ability to be there for me.”

The former aide, whose name is not public but who is decades younger than Meehan, accused the congressman of hostile behavior after he learned that she was in a relationship with someone near her age.

Meehan told the Times on Tuesday that he didn’t respond “as well as [he] would like to have” after learning of the aide’s relationship. She filed a complaint against the congressman, who is 62 and married with three children, accusing him of becoming “hostile” in the incident.

The New York Times reported earlier this week that Meehan had used taxpayer dollars to settle the sexual harassment claim.

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Meehan gave the Times a copy of the letter he hand-wrote to the aide last year in an effort to make amends for the behavior, writing that he reacted “selfishly” and attempted to express support for her relationship.

“It is a very, very lucky man who might get to be your partner for more of your life,” he wrote in the letter.

On Tuesday, Meehan told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he did not seek a romantic or sexual relationship with the staffer, but that he saw her as a “soul mate.”

“I think that the idea of soul mate is that sort of person that you go through remarkable experiences together,” he told the Inquirer.

Meehan also argued that the payment to her was “severance,” not a settlement. He has declined to say the amount of the payment.

The House Ethics Committee on Monday opened an investigation into the claims and removed Meehan from his post on the panel. If found guilty by the Ethics Committee, Meehan said he would repay the taxpayer funds.