Katie Hill delivers scathing resignation speech after Trump impeachment vote: 'I am leaving because of a double standard'
Katie Hill has unloaded with a scathing resignation speech, in which she claimed she is the victim of a gendered "double standard" in society that has punished her for her sexual life even as Donald Trump remains president in spite of bragging "about his sexual predation".
Ms Hill, who was elected to Congress in 2018 as a part of a wave of women Democrats who took office that year, delivered her final speech in the House just after participating in a historic vote to formally launch the impeachment inquiry into the president over his alleged effort to force Ukraine to investigate a potential chief political foe.
In her speech, the 32-year-old Californian noted that her impeachment vote was her final official act. And, she went after Mr Trump for his long list of alleged wrongdoings that have not driven any impeachment efforts.
"I am leaving now because of a double standard. I am leaving because I no longer want to be used as a bargaining chip," Ms Hill said.
She noted that she is resigning but Mr Trump, "who brags about his sexual predation" nevertheless "sits in the highest office in the land."
"Today as my final act I voted to move forward with impeachment of Donald Trump on behalf of the women of America," she said.
Ms Hill's resignation was announce don Sunday, three days after the conservative website Redstate published text messages and photos, showing her in a relationship with a campaign staffer, which she claims was consensual. Ms Hill, who is openly bisexual, admitted to the relationship, and apologised.
The website also published allegations that Ms Hill engaged in a sexual relationship with a male staffer of hers, which she has denied and has sparked a House Ethics Committee investigation.
Redstate and the Daily Mail have both published nude photos of Ms HIll, too. In her farewell speech, she said those photos were "the forces of revenge by a bitter jealous man", in an apparent reference to her estranged husband.
Ms Hill is now reportedly pursuing a revenge porn lawsuit.
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