US lawmaker Katie Hill resigns amid affair allegations with staffer

US representative Katie Hill announced her resignation from the Congress amid allegations that she had an apparent relationship with a congressional staff member. Hill is also under investigation by the House ethics committee. The resignation came in after she said that private pictures involving her and a campaign staff member had been used to malign her reputation by her husband and political opponents.

"It is with a broken heart that I announce my resignation"

The Democrat, who was elected to the House of  Representatives in the year 2018, posted her resignation letter on Twitter. 

'A direct invasion of privacy'

In a statement, Hill said that the release of her private pictures was a direct invasion of privacy and termed it 'illegal'. Hill said that she is pursuing all legal options available to her. Besides, Hill said that till the time she is a part of the Congress, she will be living with a sense of fear without knowing what would happen at the next step she takes. She also asked the American Capitol Police to look into the matter to investigate any legal violation for the pictures that have surfaced online.

Read: Ethics Panel Opens Investigation Of Rep. Katie Hill

She said that resignation was the only option because she did not want the people who supported her to be affected in any way by her "abusive" husband and her political opponents who have provided a platform for an attack through cyberbullying.

Hill confessed to having a relationship

The House Ethics committee has launched a probe in order to establish a fact whether the representative was involved in a relationship with an aide or not. According to reports, Hill confessed to having a relationship with an aide in her office but refused to accept the allegation that she had a sexual relationship with the staff member.

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Hill's sudden downfall

Hill's sudden downfall came after she won the House seat that was previously held by a Republican in Lon Angeles county alongside a whitewash that saw the GOP House members out of their seats in the southern part of California. She was elected to the seat by a total of 9 percentage points in 2018 that saw her defeat Stephen Knight, a 2 time Republican and have a grip on the district for her party for the first time since the year1990.

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(With inputs from AP)