Latest--CNN: House to investigate lawmaker for alleged affair, ethics lapse
In a sign of how politically devastating the allegations are for Mahoney's chances of re-election, The Cook Political Report, a publication that rates congressional races, quickly moved its rating on Monday for his Florida seat. Rather than leaning Democratic, it was switched to "Lean Republican."--CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Florida Democratic Rep. Tim Mahoney called on the House ethics committee to investigate his own behavior after ABC News reported that he paid a former staffer who was also his mistress $121,000 to avoid a sexual harassment lawsuit.
Rep. Tim Mahoney is facing allegations he paid $121,000 to a former staffer and alleged mistress.
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"The irony is not lost on any of us," a senior Democratic operative said of the allegations against Mahoney.
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Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, recently confronted Mahoney about a report on a blog that he had been unfaithful to his wife.
DCCC spokeswoman Jennifer Crider said that Van Hollen spoke to Mahoney "about his responsibility as an elected official to act appropriately and urged him to come clean with his constituents if there was any truth to the rumor."
ABC: Tim Mahoney paid mistress
ABC News: "West Palm Beach Congressman Tim Mahoney (D-FL), whose predecessor resigned in the wake of a sex scandal, agreed to a $121,000 payment to a former mistress who worked on his staff and was threatening to sue him, according to current and former members of his staff who have been briefed on the settlement, which involved Mahoney and his campaign committee. ..."
Miami Herald: The Mahoney chronicles: ABC gets tape, and no comment on 'affair' story
From ABC News: West Palm Beach Congressman Tim Mahoney (D-FL), whose predecessor resigned in the wake of a sex scandal, agreed to a $121,000 payment to a former mistress who worked on his staff and was threatening to sue him, according to current and former members of his staff who have been briefed on the settlement, which involved Mahoney and his campaign committee…
Politico: Mahoney wants ethics probe -- on self
In his first statement since the sex scandal broke, Florida Rep. Tim Mahoney is calling for the House ethics committee to probe allegations of impropriety in the hiring and firing of a female staffer with whom he allegedly had an affair.
While criticizing ABC's report as based on "hearsay," he didn't deny anything.
Palm Beach Post: Mahoney responds
Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney, rocked by allegations he agreed to pay $121,000 to a former mistress who worked on his staff and was threatening to sue him, just issued this response this afternoon:
“I was notified this afternoon about a story that ran on ABC News’ website reporting allegations about a former employee. While these allegations are based on hearsay, I believe that my constituents need a full accounting. As such, I have requested the House Ethics Committee to review these allegations. I am confident that when the facts are presented that I will be vindicated.”
Palm Beach Post: Mahoney Consultants Quit
Statement of Fletcher Rowley Chao (FRCR, Inc.) CEO Bill Fletcher:
“As of today, FRCR, Inc. has resigned from Tim Mahoney’s campaign and permanently ended our relationship with him.
“According to ABC News, Tim Mahoney apparently included our company in a secret legal settlement without the knowledge of our firm. Our firm did not agree to any legal settlement.
“If these allegations are true Tim Mahoney’s actions are unacceptable and not in line with FRCR’s business ethics.”
Politico: Mahoney tied to $121K sex scandal
The scandal breaks at the worst possible time for Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.), who faces a tough re-election.
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ABC News reported Monday that Rep. Tim Mahoney — the Florida Democrat who replaced disgraced Republican Mark Foley in 2006 — paid $121,000 to a staffer with whom he had an affair. The news gives Republicans a desperately needed new line of attack just three weeks before Election Day.
Mahoney, 52, paid former staffer Patricia Allen $61,000 — plus $60,000 in legal fees — after she threatened to sue him for sexual harassment and intimidation, the network reported, citing unnamed Mahoney staffers and Allen’s legal papers.
The congressman – who promised to restore honor and morality in a district rocked by revelations of Foley’s inappropriate behavior toward House pages – reportedly moved the 50-year-old Allen from a job in his office to a $50,000 position with an agency that handles his campaign advertising.
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The scandal breaks at the worst possible time for Mahoney. He was facing a highly competitive race against Rooney, one of the GOP’s leading recruits. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has already spent $430,000 on ads on behalf of Mahoney.
A poll conducted for Rooney in September showed Mahoney with a 48 to 41 percent lead.
Now Democratic operatives are privately glum about their prospects of holding onto the seat.
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Friends of Allen told ABC she sought to break off the affair when she learned Mahoney was allegedly involved in other extra-marital relationships at the same time.
Her friends say she told them Mahoney threatened that ending the relationship could cost her the job.
"You work at my pleasure," Mahoney told Allen on a Jan. 20, 2008 telephone call that was recorded and played for Mahoney staffers.
The Hill: Mahoney says he wants ethics investigation
Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.) said Monday afternoon that he wants the House Ethics Committee to look into a report that he paid a former mistress more than $120,000 in hush money.
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Similarly, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) has asked the ethics committee to look into several controversies that have hampered him, including his apartment rentals, his use of congressional resources and his failure to disclose rental income to the Internal Revenue Service and Congress.
Mahoney is involved in one of the toughest reelection campaigns in the country, thanks to the conservative bent of his south-central Florida district.
His challenger, Republican Tom Rooney, will be holding a press conference with National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.) at 9:15 a.m. EST on Tuesday morning.
Orlando Sentinel: ABC News: Mahoney paid off mistress
From ABC News: …And this audio of the Democrat allegedly firing her isn't going to go over well. "You work at my pleasure," Mahoney is heard telling Allen on the Jan. 20, 2008 telephone call that provided to ABC News.
The Hill: Report: Dem Rep. Mahoney paid off mistress
Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.) has paid a former mistress more than $120,000 in hush money, according to ABC News.
The report, which cites Mahoney staffers who have been briefed on the settlement, says a former aide, Patricia Allen, was threatening to sue Mahoney after their affair ended.
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The ABC report includes a phone call in which two people identified by ABC News as Mahoney and Allen argue about her firing and the real reason behind it. A vulgar and agitated Mahoney insists it is strictly performance-based, while the woman identified as Allen says it is for other reasons.
“Let me tell you something else: If I find out that you say anything else, you won’t get your last paycheck,” the man identified as Mahoney says.
When asked what he thinks she might say, he says, “I don’t give a (expletive).”
“You work at my pleasure; do you understand what that means?” he asks, adding later: “You did a (expletive) job, and you’re fired.”
Palm Beach Post: ABC says Mahoney paid alleged mistress
Mahoney was already facing a tough reelection challenge this year from Republican Tom Rooney.
Rooney’s campaign had no comment on the Mahoney allegations, a spokesman said.
The Republican Party of Florida wasn’t as reticent.
“The story revealed by ABC news today stands in drastic contrast to Tim Mahoney's 2006 campaign promises to restore morality and family values to CD-16,” RPOF spokeswoman Katie Gordon said.
