Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) defended himself from what he called a “hit piece” as he responded to questions of whether he violated ethics rules by hiring two women with whom he held personal relationships.
Cornered in a congressional building in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, D’Esposito knocked concerns about his move to employ his ex-mistress, as well as his fiancee’s daughter, in a district office last year.
“Neither relationship violated any ethics,” the New York Republican told CNN’s Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju after he admitted he had hired both women to work for him.
NEW @mkraju on the chase
Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, facing scrutiny over reportedly hiring lover and fiance’s daughter, tells CNN: ‘Neither relationship violated any ethics’ pic.twitter.com/T649G1BUii
— haleytalbotcnn (@haleytalbotcnn) September 25, 2024
D’Esposito’s words appeared to be the first public remarks he’s made about a report published by the New York Times on Monday.
The congressman called the story a “hit piece” two days later as he fended off worries that his actions may have violated the House Code of Official Conduct. When questioned why he had waited days to deny concerns that he could have violated ethics rules, D’Esposito deflected.
“I’ve made it very clear that I did not violate any ethics,” he said.
D’Esposito’s onetime mistress Devin Faas reportedly collected payments between April and July of 2023 for working in the congressman’s New York office. D’Esposito also hired his fiancee’s daughter to work as a special assistant.
In total, the congressman paid the two women roughly $29,000 in taxpayer funds.
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D’Esposito told the Washington Examiner that his “personal life has never interfered with my ability to deliver results for New York’s 4th District.”
“I have upheld the highest ethical standards of personal conduct. Voters deserve better than the Times’s gutter politics,” he concluded.
