Rep. Scotty Campbell, who voted to expel Tennessee Democrats for having the audacity to protest against gun violence, resigned from the General Assembly on Thursday. Campbell was recently found guilty of sexually harassing at least one legislative intern, possibly two, by an ethics subcommittee acting in secret, according to NewsChannel 5. About six hours after this was revealed, Campbell gave up his seat.
Via NewsChannel 5:
NewsChannel 5 has learned that potentially thousands of dollars have been spent to protect one victim, relocating her from the downtown apartment building where she and Campbell both had apartments, shipping her furniture back home in another part of the state, and placing her in a downtown hotel for the remainder of her internship.
Legislative officials refused to say how much they've paid out, saying that information is confidential.
Confronted with the allegations Thursday as he headed to Capitol Hill, Campbell referenced a second intern who was also involved in the investigation. NewsChannel 5 was previously unaware of that individual's complaint."I had consensual, adult conversations with two adults off property," he insisted.
"I think conversations are consensual once that is verbally agreed to. If I choose to talk to any intern in the future, it will be recorded."
But a four-member ethics subcommittee, composed of two Republicans and two Democrats, came to a different conclusion, according to a memorandum dated March 29 that was sent to House Speaker Cameron Sexton.
"Based on the completed staff investigation, the Ethics Subcommittee finds that Representative Campbell violated the Policy" against workplace discrimination and harassment, the memo says.
Campbell said he voted to expel the Tennessee Three saying, "If you were in court and behaved like those three did, you would have been found in contempt of court."
But in an email given to NewsChannel 5 Investigates by a family member, the victim provided a detailed account to officials at her university about her experiences with the Republican leader.
For example, after seeing her and another 19-year-old female intern entering her apartment at the nearby Capitol Towers, the woman describes how Campbell later "made comments about how ... he was in his apartment imagining that we were performing sexual acts on one another and how it drove him crazy knowing that was happening so close to him."
"I uncomfortably explained that that was not happening," she recounts, "and he insisted that he knew it was and asked me to tell him about it.
His resignation letter simply said, “I resign from the Tennessee House of Representatives. Effective immediately.”
Campbell quotes Bible verses on Facebook and posts family photos. He's that kind of guy. And the Republicans that covered this up while expelling the state's Democrats are equally hypocritical.
