Democrat Kihuen will not seek re-election after sexual misconduct claims
Congressman issues statement shortly before fourth allegation reported
First-term Nevada representative is fifth member of Congress to go
A Democratic congressman from Nevada who has been accused of sexual misconduct by four women will not seek re-election next year.
Ruben Kihuen is accused of inappropriate behaviour including unwanted sexual advances. Senior Democrats including the House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, had called for him to step down. On Friday, the House ethics committee announced an investigation.
In a statement on Saturday, the 37-year-old first-term congressman said he wanted “to state clearly again that I deny the allegations in question” and said he was “committed to fully cooperating with the House ethics committee and I look forward to clearing my name”.
He had decided to step down at the end of his term, he said, because the allegations against him “would be a distraction from a fair and thorough discussion of the issues in a re-election campaign”.
“Therefore, it is in the best interests of my family and my constituents to complete my term in Congress and not seek re-election.”
After Kihuen released the statement, the Nevada Independent reported the fourth allegation against him. It said an unnamed 24-year-old woman from Washington DC alleged the congressman “made unwanted overtures and asked overly personal questions of her this fall while his campaign was a client of her firm”.
In a statement to the newspaper, Kihuen said: “I adamantly deny these unsubstantiated allegations. My interactions with this woman were limited and always professional.”
Kihuen, who defeated an incumbent Republican to win his swing seat in 2016, is the fifth member of Congress to announce in recent weeks his resignation or decision not to run again, over allegations of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour.
The Democratic Michigan representative John Conyers and Minnesota senator Al Franken have announced their resignations. The Arizona Republican representative Trent Franks also resigned while Blake Farenthold, a Republican from Texas, said he would not seek re-election.
Nationally, a wave of such allegations has followed the downfall of the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who denies multiple allegations including assault and rape.
The downfall of Franken, among others, has focused political attention on Donald Trump. Multiple women have accused the president of sexual misconduct. Trump, who was recorded claiming to be able to “grab” women “by the pussy”, denies all the accusations. The White House has said all the women are lying.
However, last weekend a member of Trump’s own cabinet, Nikki Haley, the UN ambassador, said the women “should be heard”.
A group of Trump’s accusers subsequently called for a congressional investigation. The New York Democratic senator Kirsten Gillibrand led calls for Trump to resign.
