Fired Senate staffer could face criminal charges over hearing room sex video: Turley
Emily Jacobs
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The former Senate staffer accused of filming himself engaging in explicit sexual activity in a congressional hearing room may be in legal jeopardy.
The U.S. Capitol Police told the Washington Examiner over the weekend that it was investigating the matter, which had already prompted Sen. Ben Cardin’s (D-MD) office to terminate Aidan Maese-Czeropski’s employment as a legislative aide. Maese-Czeropski, 24, has not confirmed that he was one of the two men in the pornographic video, instead taking to social media on Friday to largely absolve himself of responsibility for the now-viral video and threaten legal action.
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Jonathan Turley, the George Washington University law professor and constitutional scholar, speculated in a blog post over the weekend that Maese-Czeropski could face criminal charges for trespassing, indecent exposure, and misuse of public property.
“Staffers have access into such rooms, but the question is whether this unofficial use would constitute trespass,” Turley wrote. “It also uses an official area for personal purposes, though it is not clear if there were any commercial benefits garnered from the video found on various sites.”
Explicit video footage was published Friday that purportedly showed two men engaging in sexual intercourse on the dais of a Senate hearing room. The Daily Caller, which obtained the pornographic material on Friday, reported that the footage was filmed by a congressional staffer inside the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room in the Hart Senate Office Building, which is known for high-profile confirmation hearings for Supreme Court justices. Although the outlet did not name the staffer in question, Maese-Czeropski’s name was subsequently widely shared on social media.
The footage was published hours after the American Spectator reported that a male staffer in Cardin’s office had been filming pornographic videos in the Capitol. While the person was not identified, the report references one of the individual staffer’s social media accounts, to which he allegedly posts sexually explicit images and videos.
Maese-Czeropski did not address the pornographic video directly in his Friday evening LinkedIn post, instead only outright denying an unrelated accusation that he accosted Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
“This has been a difficult time for me, as I have been attacked for who I love to pursue a political agenda. While some of my actions in the past have shown poor judgement, I love my job and would never disrespect my workplace,” Maese-Czeropski said. “Any attempts to characterize my actions otherwise are fabricated and I will be exploring what legal options are available to me in these matters.”
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“As for the accusations regarding Congressman Max Miller, I have never seen the congressman and had no opportunity or cause to yell or confront him,” he said.
The Miller incident allegedly occurred when the Jewish congressman was speaking to a reporter last week, at which point a staffer confronted him to shout, “Free Palestine.” Miller identified Maese-Czeropski as the staffer in an interview on Friday.