Katie Porter denies dumping potatoes on ex-husband in renewed domestic abuse scrutiny
Misty Severi
Video Embed
Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) denied allegations on Thursday that she was abusive to her ex-husband. It was alleged that she dumped a pot of hot potatoes on his head.
Matt Hoffman, Porter’s ex-husband, accused the congresswoman of hitting him in the arm hard enough to cause “a large bruise” and claimed she said he was “too dumb” to have a cellphone.
KATIE PORTER GETS LITTLE PITY OVER ‘HARD’ CONGRESSIONAL JOB: ‘RESIGN THEN’
The accusations were detailed in their divorce filings from August 2013. Porter also filed domestic abuse charges and a restraining order against Hoffman, who was arrested after a confrontation.
“The morning of the hearing on Porter’s request for a temporary restraining order following documented violence by her then-husband, her then-husband’s lawyer filed a reciprocal request for protection,” Porter spokeswoman Lindsay Reilly told Fox News.
“This common defensive tactic is designed to intimidate a victim. Her then-husband later admitted, as evidenced by the attached document, that ‘he regretted making these allegations,’” she added.
The renewed scrutiny of Porter comes after she announced a bid for Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) Senate seat in 2024. Former employees of Porter have claimed she runs a toxic work environment.
For example, a Navy veteran who worked for Porter said the congresswoman dismissed sexual harassment allegations made by another staffer and made inappropriate jokes about race.
Sasha Georgiades, who worked for Porter for two years as a Wounded Warrior fellow, also said the California Democrat harshly criticized her aides and alleged that Porter demoted her at the end of the fellowship for exposing Porter to COVID-19. A spokesperson for Porter denied that the exposure was the cause of the demotion.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“This former employee was not fired. She was a fellow in our office, and weeks before she breached COVID protocol in July, we had already mutually agreed on an end date in August 2022,” the spokesperson wrote. “Congresswoman Porter was informing her that she would work from home for the remaining three weeks of her fellowship.”
Porter faces two other House Democrats in the fight for Feinstein’s seat, Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Barbara Lee (D-CA). Feinstein announced she was not running for reelection in February.