January 24, 2018 10:49 AM UTC

At Least He's Not Your Creepy Congressman

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• by: Colorado Pols

Republican Congressman Pat Meehan of Pennsylvania is responding to reports that he sexually harassed a staffer in his office — which included a financial settlement paid for by taxpayer dollars — by detailing the absurd level of creepiness he displayed in the process and also blaming Obamacare for his behavior. As the Huffington Post explains:

Meehan told the Philadelphia Inquirer on Tuesday that he believed the two were “soul mates” but denied that an emotional letter he sent her last year was romantic. Meehan said he sent the letter after learning she was in a serious relationship and was considering quitting her position.

“You are and have been a complete partner to me and you have brought me much happiness,” he wrote in the May 2017 letter, which is signed “with all my heart.”

She didn’t reciprocate his feelings, leading him to grow hostile, the woman said in a complaint. She received a taxpayer-funded settlement in response and left her position.

Meehan denied that he retaliated against her and instead blamed any negative behavior on stress over the Republican effort to dismantle Affordable Care Act. On the day Meehan penned the letter to his aide, the House voted to partially repeal and replace the health care law.

Meehan’s interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer is really quite incredible, and not in a good way. Meehan insists that he plans to run for re-election in 2018, though we can’t imagine that his name will ultimately be on the ballot in November.