Already under investigation by the House Ethics Committee after allegations surfaced of an affair with a member of her congressional staff, Rep. Katie Hill (D-CA) threatened to take legal action after a second nude photograph of her was published. On Thursday, the Daily Mail published a photo purporting to show the nude lawmaker holding a bong. The photo was published only days following the publication of a different nude photo of her by the conservative blog RedState. Citing California’s “revenge porn” law, lawyers representing the congresswoman vowed to pursue legal action against the tabloid if the photograph was not removed. “This letter serves as notice that civil and criminal laws prohibit the publication of images of the character you have posted and that our client is prepared to take all necessary means to protect her rights and to protect herself from an unprecedented, unwarranted and extraordinary offensive invasion of personal privacy,” they wrote in a letter to the outlet. Hill is in the process of divorcing Kenneth Heslep, her husband of nine years, and is openly bisexual. After RedState published the first image, Hill alleged Heslep leaked the photo and said he “seems determined to try to humiliate me.” The freshman lawmaker, 32, won an upset victory in Orange County, a traditionally Republican district, in 2018. The investigation now underway could cost Hill her position as the vice chair of the House Oversight Committee and effectively end her political career if the Ethics Committee finds she had a relationship with an individual on her staff.
*story by Knowhere News