Alcee Hastings defends longtime relationship, which appears to flout new House rule

Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings’ long public career has been marked by scandal.

In 1989 he was impeached and removed from office as a federal judge on bribery and perjury charges. In 2018, the federal government acknowledged that a woman who accused Hastings of sexual harassment received a $220,000 taxpayer-funded settlement without Hastings’ knowledge, despite Hastings being cleared of wrongdoing by the House Ethics Committee.

But the latest investigation into Florida’s longest-serving Democrat in Congress stems from something that’s been public knowledge for years — his relationship with Patricia Williams, his former attorney and current deputy director. The House Ethics Committee announced last week that Hastings has been under investigation “for public allegations arising out of Representative Alcee Hastings’ personal relationship with an individual employed in his congressional office.”

In an interview with the Miami Herald, Hastings said he was cooperating with the House Ethics Committee and declined to speak about the specifics of the ongoing investigation, saying “when you have an Ethics investigation, it’s best, unless you are speaking through a lawyer or speaking through the committee, it’s best to leave it like it is.”

But Hastings defended his relationship with Williams.

“Patricia and I have been together for 42 years,” Hastings said. “Everybody in my constituency knows that she has been working in the office for 27 years. One of the things, and I will say this to you, that I do deeply resent is the comparison, for example, of her salary after 27 years to other members’ staffers who have worked five years or six years. If you get a 1% COLA [cost of living increase] for 27 years you’d be making a pretty good salary in a congressional office. There are little nuances like that, but I’ve said all I need to say.”

Williams has a salary of $168,411 a year, according to LegiStorm, a service that tracks congressional staffer pay. Members of Congress make $174,000, and staffers are not allowed to make more than lawmakers.

In 2018, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a rule that says lawmakers “may not engage in a sexual relationship with any employee of the House who works under the supervision of the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner, or who is an employee of a committee on which the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner serves.”

The rule is written narrowly, with violations applying to sexual activity. It’s not against the rules for a member of Congress to have a non-sexual relationship with a staffer. A separate rule prevents members of Congress from engaging in sexual harassment, which is not at issue in Hastings’ consensual relationship.

A statement from the Ethics Committee said that Hastings has been under investigation since May 2019, though the existence of the investigation was not announced until November.

The timing raises questions about Hastings’ case in relation to two other potential violations of the new rule, which were announced in October 2019.

Former Rep. Katie Hill, D-Calif, resigned in October after she was accused of having a relationship with a member of her congressional staff, an accusation she denied. She also admitted to having a relationship with a staffer on her congressional campaign, which is outside the scope of the House Ethics Committee, and conservative websites posted nude photographs of her, which she said originated from her estranged husband who was out to hurt her.

The Ethics Committee announced it began an investigation into Hill’s conduct on October 23. The next day, the committee announced it began investigating Guam delegate Michael F. Q. San Nicolas, who was accused in September by his former chief of staff of having a sexual relationship with a staffer. San Nicolas denied the allegation.

The alleged rule-breaking relationships involving Hill and San Nicolas were first raised in media reports. The conservative website RedState said Hill had a relationship with her legislative director. San Nicolas’ former chief of staff said San Nicolas had a rule-breaking relationship in an interview with the Guam Daily Post.

But while Hastings has acknowledged his relationship publicly multiple times, the Ethics Committee made no mention of an investigation into Hastings until November 14, when it released a batch of previously scheduled updates into ongoing investigations involving other members of Congress.

The Ethics Committee does not comment on the specifics of investigations and also declined to comment on the timing of Hastings’ announcement.

The announcement of an investigation into Hastings was made after the Palm Beach Post wrote a story on October 31 noting that Hill resigned after an Ethics investigation was announced but no investigation was announced into Hastings.

Rep. Ted Deutch, a South Florida Democrat whose district borders Hastings’, is chairman of the Ethics Committee.

In an interview, Hastings said, “I don’t know,” when asked if he knew who accused him of violating House rules.

Hastings is 83 and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January. He has said multiple times he plans to run for reelection in 2020 and said in a recent interview that his doctors said he’s responding well to treatment.

And the new allegations don’t appear to damage his political standing within the district or with fellow lawmakers in Washington. Hastings has faced nominal opposition in his heavily Democratic district that stretches from southern Broward County to majority African-American neighborhoods in Palm Beach County.

“He’s a wonderful colleague who has been very supportive of me, but I don’t know the details of this one,” Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Miami, said. “Alcee is very popular because he’s a terrific legislator.”

The House Ethics Committee formally sanctioned one member, former Rep. Ruben Kihuen, D-Nevada, amid allegations stemming from the #MeToo movement. Kihuen was punished for “persistent and unwanted advances towards women who were required to interact with him as part of their professional responsibilities.”

But the punishment meted out in November 2018 was a symbolic rebuke, the least serious form of punishment the committee can give. Kihuen decided not to run for reelection when the Ethics Committee launched its investigation in December 2017, and he left the House of Representatives in January 2019.

Hastings said he’ll continue to cooperate with the investigation.

“I’ve said all I need to say,” he said.

This story was originally published November 21, 2019 at 6:00 AM.