M. Reese Everson, a former Congressional Black Caucus Foundation fellow, alleged that Rep. Bobby Scott touched her inappropriately, propositioned her for sex and wrongfully terminated her. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo | Evan Vucci | AP Photo Rep. Scott denies sexual misconduct allegation

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) on Friday denied an allegation that he sexually harassed a staffer in 2013.

M. Reese Everson, a former Congressional Black Caucus Foundation fellow, alleged earlier Friday that Scott touched her inappropriately, propositioned her for sex and wrongfully terminated her in 2013.


“I absolutely deny this allegation of misconduct,” Scott said in a statement. “I have never sexually harassed anyone.”

Everson wasn’t fired by Scott’s office, according to an aide, but rather terminated by the CBCF after being released from the House Financial Services Committee and placed on a performance improvement plan.

Everson and her lawyer, Jack Burkman, held a news conference in Arlington, Virginia. The pair originally scheduled a news conference in late November. At the time, Burkman told reporters the event was canceled because Everson got cold feet, and he had added in a Nov. 29 statement that he would no longer represent her.

Everson explained Friday that her body wouldn’t allow her to leave her home that day. It wasn’t immediately clear why Burkman continued to represent her, but Scott’s statement described him as “a Republican operative known for dabbling in outlandish conspiracy theories.”

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Burkman urged Scott to resign and called for an immediate ethics investigation. He repeatedly spoke up for Everson throughout the news conference, often imploring reporters to put themselves not only in her shoes but also in the environment in which she alleged she endured harassment — years before the #MeToo movement created a space for women to feel more comfortable speaking out against workplace misconduct.

Scott, however, accused Everson of squandering this new opportunity for women with a false allegation.

“The recent national discussion about sexual harassment is valued and important to our work to continue to make the workplace free from harassment and discrimination,” said Scott, the top Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee. “False allegations will squander this momentous opportunity for dialogue on meaningful change in the workplace. I am confident that this false allegation will be seen for what it is when the facts are adequately reviewed.”

Everson claimed Scott touched her knee and back and later asked her to flirt with him. “At that moment, I realized that I had to get the heck out of there,” she told reporters.

She said she was “blackballed” and “blacklisted” by lobbying firms, law firms and other congressional offices after the CBC refused to provide a recommendation letter.

Everson, who appeared in The New York Times and on Fox News with Laura Ingraham last month, told reporters that although there are political implications, “this has nothing to do with politics for me, personally.”

“My only decision for coming out was so that women — so that my daughters, when I have them, can go work on Capitol Hill if they so choose, and the predators who I knew about when I was there aren’t still there to harass my daughters,” she continued. “That’s why I came out.”

Everson is the first woman to accuse Scott of harassment. She suggested emails exist that would corroborate elements of her story and said she knew of one intern who left “unhappy” and was also denied a recommendation. She conceded that she never went into “the details” of the woman’s experience, however.

Everson filed a lawsuit in Chicago in 2011 alleging she was sexually harassed by a woman. That case has since been withdrawn.



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Sexual Harassment