Congressman Meehan Announces Resignation

[brooklynite]

Source: Office of Congressman Pat Meehan

(Washington – April 27, 2018) – Representative Patrick Meehan (R-PA) today transmitted a letter of resignation to Governor Tom Wolf and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan effective Friday, April 27, 2018. Representative Meehan had previously announced he would not seek re-election to the seat which he has held since being elected in 2010.

“With the knowledge I would not be standing for another term, I have decided that stepping down now is in the interest of the constituents I have been honored to serve. I have stayed to fight for important priorities like fully funding our troops, increasing support for medical research and preserving promising clean energy solutions. And now that work is accomplished.

While I do believe I would be exonerated of any wrongdoing, I also did not want to put my staff through the rigors of an Ethics Committee investigation and believed it was best for them to have a head start on new employment rather than being caught up in an inquiry. And since I have chosen to resign, the inquiry will not become a burden to taxpayers and committee staff.

“I will pay $39,000.00 to the U.S. Treasury to reimburse for the severance payment that was made from my office account. That payment will be made within 30 days of my resignation from the House of Representatives. I did not want to leave with any question of violating the trust of taxpayers.

Read more: https://meehan.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-meehan-announces-resignation

[Blue_Adept]

1. Linkage please?

[malthaussen]

7. Here ya go...

https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/pa-gop-rep-pat-meehan-to-resign-from-congress

-- Mal

[Freedomofspeech]

2. Pennsytucky...

So proud.

[bjvom]

3. I have a sneaking suspicion

Is anyone else as paranoid as I am about these early resignations? Of what wrongdoing is he liable to be investigated for?

[BumRushDaShow]

11. A whole pile of resignations have come out of here in PA

where we just had the courts uphold redrawing of the congressional districts so it really would have been a waste for him to stay (regardless of his sexual harassment problem). The resignations in PA have mostly come from the metro Philly area where the new districts will be Democratic pickups including the main area of his current district.

And as a note, HIS was the infamous one that looks like this -



The redrawn version looks like this -



And with that, he was screwn.

[DownriverDem]

13. Hopefully

I'm more hoping it's like 2010 when the Dems announced in big numbers that they wouldn't run again and then the Dems lost big in the midterms. Rank and file repubs are not paying attention to what this could all mean for them in November.

[Cracklin Charlie]

4. He did not want to leave with any questions of violating the trust of taxpayers?

His resigning this way raises thousands of questions!

I never heard of him , but now all I wanna know is...

What did you DO?

[malthaussen]

8. Allegations of sexual misconduct.

As with so many of his GOP brethren.

-- Mal

[niyad]

10. apparently, the 39K is a settlement in a sexual harassment case, which, like farenthold,

he used taxpayer money.

[malthaussen]

5. I'm almost impressed.

There's no reason why he should reimburse the Treasury for his severance. Unless he's hoping to score some points for a future run once he's "exonerated."

Interesting that he doesn't want his "staff" subject to an Ethics Investigation.

-- Mal

[laserhaas]

6. Good

[BumRushDaShow]

9. Oh my.

Another special election... Although this seat was redrawn and is guaranteed to be a Democratic pickup regardless.

As a note about him - he used to be Delaware County D.A. before getting this seat, which had been held by Joe Sestak, who beat long-time 7th Congressional congressman Curt Weldon before that.

[DownriverDem]

12. Could it also be

so a special election to replace him would be held now rather than in November?

[WiseElder]

14. Background info here

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/20/us/politics/patrick-meehan-sexual-harassment.html