Rep. Blake Farenthold
U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, resigned recently over sexual harassment charges, and former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Houston, was convicted on 23 counts of fraud.
The House Ethics Committee told Farentold he should repay the $84,000 settlement he paid to settle a sexual harassment charge. The congressman used funds from his office budget to pay the claim.
Farenthold had said he would repay the money, but so far has not.
Farenthold had already said he would not seek re-election, but resigned from office on April 13. He had a solid anti-LGBT voting record and earned a score of 0 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard.
Stockman was convicted on Thursday, April 12, of defrauding two donors and funneling $1.25 million into personal and campaign accounts. Two former aides pleaded guilty and testified against the former congressman.
He faces decades in prison, but his attorneys said they would appeal.
Stockman served two non-consecutive terms in the U.S. House and lost a primary bid against Sen. John Cornyn in 2014. In his last term in office, he received a 30 on the HRC Congressional Scorecard.
— David Taffet