Brian Poindexter, Incoming House Democrat, Is Under Investigation For Sexual Harassment

Rep.-elect Brian Poindexter is under investigation over the alleged sexual harassment of a campaign worker, House Democrats and his own campaign said Friday — days after POLITICO reported two Democratic groups had taken his name off their websites.

The House Democratic campaign arm has hired an outside firm to investigate “allegations” against Poindexter, its top staffer said in a statement. And a spokesperson for the incoming Ohio freshman's campaign said it had initiated its own external review while characterizing Poindexter's actions as innocuous and misunderstood.

“Brian gave what he thought was an innocuous compliment to a volunteer. He heard later that it made her feel uncomfortable and he felt awful,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“When Brian learned about this, we immediately began to work to get to the bottom of it with an outside HR firm,” the spokesperson added. “Neither Brian nor the campaign ever wants anyone to feel uncomfortable.”

DCCC Executive Director Julie Merz said her group "has been made aware of the allegations and takes them seriously."

"In the interest of fairness to all parties involved, we have hired an independent, third-party firm to investigate any instance of inappropriate behavior, conduct interviews and gather the facts,” she said in a Friday statement. “Upon completion of that investigation, which we have asked to be swift, thorough and transparent, the DCCC will have further comment.”

POLITICO has not confirmed details of the allegation against Poindexter. Punchbowl News previously reported the DCCC statement.

Poindexter defeated Republican Rep. Max Miller in a Cleveland-area district after a heated race that garnered national attention. Miller faced allegations of domestic abuse related to his divorce which he denies.

The news of the investigation into Poindexter comes after the political arms of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition and Congressional Progressive Caucus removed their endorsements of Poindexter around Election Day without prior explanation. They confirmed Friday that they "became aware of a report of alleged sexual harassment in the final days of the campaign."

“We informed the DCCC and connected the individual with legal advocacy and support services so she could determine how she wanted to proceed," the Blue Dog PAC and CPC PAC said in a joint statement, which further indicated that the woman who made the complaint "requested that we did not disclose any details about this publicly" to protect her identity and to give her time to determine her next steps.

"We respected her desires, and also felt we needed to immediately pull our endorsements pending the investigation being completed," the statement continued. "The investigation is ongoing and we await the results."

When asked about the endorsements Tuesday during a brief interview on Capitol Hill, Poindexter said, “My main focus right now is just setting up my office and stuff. There could be time to join ideological caucuses.”

He added, “Nothing to read into that. Just, I’m waiting to learn the political landscape.”

The campaign spokesperson said Friday, “As a lifelong ironworker, Brian always went out of his way to make everyone feel comfortable on any job site. He knows these are different worlds, but he will do the same in Congress.”