Kirsten Gillibrand has sometimes been referred to as the #MeToo senator for her championing of gender equality and, more recently, for leading the Democratic charge to oust her former colleague Al Franken over sexual misconduct allegations. That same year, she said that Bill Clinton, the husband of her former mentor, should have resigned over the Monica Lewinsky scandal, reportedly burning her bridge to Clintonworld for good. (Clinton allies told the Associated Press that the couple’s anger “runs deep, and their relationship may be irreparable.”) But according to a new report Monday, the New York Democrat and presidential hopeful’s public advocacy has not always squared with how her own office has privately handled sexual harassment allegations.

Per Politico, a former Gillibrand aide quit last year after alleging that the senator’s office failed to adequately address her sexual harassment allegations against one of Gillibrand’s top aides, Abbas Malik. The woman, who said Malik repeatedly made unwanted sexual advances toward her, reportedly told Gillibrand’s deputy chief of staff, Anne Bradley, about the alleged harassment, with Bradley then informing chief of staff Jess Fassler; the senator’s office investigated the matter internally. Malik was eventually “disciplined,” but not fired—according to his accuser, he then retaliated professionally against her. Gillibrand’s office did not interview two former staffers who allegedly could have corroborated the woman’s story. While the two top aides reportedly said they “believed” the woman, Fassler also suggested that she, too, had committed “fireable offenses” while on staff.

“Your office chose to go against your public belief that women shouldn’t accept sexual harassment in any form and portrayed my experience as a misinterpretation instead of what it actually was: harassment and ultimately, intimidation.”the woman wrote in a letter to Gillibrand last August. “I have offered my resignation because of how poorly the investigation and post-investigation was handled.”

Over the course of its own reporting, Politico uncovered additional allegations of inappropriate behavior on Malik’s part, including a former staffer who said Malik “often called her fat and unattractive to her face and made light of sexual abuse.” The same former staffer said Malik joked that a certain woman “couldn’t get laid unless she was raped.” Malik did not respond to Politico’s requests for comment.

Malik, a longtime close aide to Gillibrand, was fired last week, but the story is likely to be damaging for the 2020 Democratic hopeful, who has not only served as one of the leading champions of #MeToo on Capitol Hill, but has also made advocacy for gender equality central to her fledgling presidential bid. As my colleague Tina Nguyen reported last week, she’s struggled to build momentum, failing so far to distinguish herself from the crowded field of Democratic challengers. With these allegations, she may finally stand out from the field—but for all the wrong reasons. And, if she can’t find a way to adequately address the disconcerting report, it could sink her campaign.

Gillibrand told Politico in a statement that “we must believe women so that serious investigations can actually take place, we can learn the facts, and there can be appropriate accountability.” “That’s exactly what happened at every step of this case last year,” she said. “I told her that we loved her at the time and the same is true today.”

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