Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on July 13 filed an ethics complaint against the chief of staff of a colleague after he was caught defacing posters placed outside her office.
Greene asked the House Ethics Committee to immediately open an investigation into the conduct of Timothy Hysom, the chief of staff for Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), according to a copy of the complaint reviewed by The Epoch Times.
“As the chief ethics body of the House of Representatives, it is your duty to consider ethical referrals, conduct investigations, and issue citations against Members and staff for violations of House Rules faithfully and impartially. I would urge the Committee to investigate the conduct of a House employee that certainly violates the respect this institution deserves and uphold whatever respect remains for the person and property of fellow Members of Congress,” Greene wrote.
Hysom clearly violated the Rules of the House, which states that employees and members “shall behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House” and “House shall adhere to the spirit and letter of the Rules of the House,” she added.
The posters said, “There are Only Two Genders: Male and Female Trust the Science.”
Prosecution Declined
USCP referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, but prosecutors declined to take action, according to the USCP and a spokesman for Greene.Matt Corridoni, a spokesman for Auchincloss, defended what Hysom did, saying regulations bar posters from being placed in hallways outside of members’ offices.
“Adhering a sticker—to a poster that shouldn’t be there in the first place—is hardly a federal crime. What Tim did was to adhere a series of stickers to foul, mean spirited, bullying posters outside the Congresswoman’s office. These stickers were never threatening and always respectful,” Corridoni previously told The Epoch Times via email.
Hysom has not responded to requests for comment.
The House Ethics Manual says that “employees may not do indirectly what they would be barred from doing directly.”
Greene said that what Hyson did “certainly falls into the realm of behavior which would be barred directly under any normal code of ethics,” urging the ethics panel not to condone Hyson’s behavior as acceptable.
“Such a precedent would lead to the endorsement that staff or Members may violate the property of others whenever their party happens to be in the Majority,” she said.
The panel, led by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), does not comment on potential investigations. It periodically announces the results of probes it has launched.
