Democrat sent cease-and-desist as lawsuit suggests publication defamed her by claiming she has a Nazi-inspired tattoo

This article is more than 10 months old

This article is more than 10 months old

A member of Congress from California has threatened to sue the Daily Mail over nude photographs and claims posted online by the newspaper.

Lawyers for Katie Hill, 32, a Democratic, first-term representative from a suburban Los Angeles district, sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Mail demanding that “you remove these photos from publication at once”.

The lawsuit, which was first reported by Politico, also suggested that the Daily Mail had defamed Hill by stating that she has a Nazi-inspired tattoo on her body, which Hill denied.

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The bipartisan House ethics committee opened an investigation of Hill this week for possibly having engaged in a relationship with a staff member in violation of House rules.

Hill has said that she had an “inappropriate” relationship with a staffer.

“I know that even a consensual relationship with a subordinate is inappropriate, but I still allowed it to happen despite my better judgment,” she said in a statement. “For that I apologize. I wish nothing but the best for her and hope everyone respects her privacy in this difficult time.”

Conservative media in the US have gleefully covered the story, which began with the publication of a nude photo on the far-right web site RedState. The photos appear to have been leaked as part of an acrimonious divorce proceeding that is ongoing for Hill.

California’s 25th congressional district had been held by Republicans for more than 20 years before Hill won the seat as part of the blue wave of 2018.

“I am going through a divorce from an abusive husband who seems determined to try to humiliate me. I am disgusted that my opponents would seek to exploit such a private matter for political gain,” she said in a separate statement.

“This coordinated effort to try to destroy me and the people close to me is despicable and will not succeed. I, like many women who have faced attacks like this before, am stronger than those who want me to be afraid.”

The Guardian has contacted the Mail for comment.