Embattled South Texas U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales on Thursday fired off tweet accusing the husband of a deceased lady who as soon as labored in his workplace of attempting to blackmail him.
That lady, Regina Santos-Aviles, is identical staffer an Categorical-Information report from Tuesday accused the Republican congressman of getting an affair with previous to her suicide. She died in September after setting herself on hearth outdoors her Uvalde dwelling.
“I WILL NOT BE BLACKMAILED,” Gonzales tweeted Thursday morning. “Disgusting to see folks revenue politically and financially off a tragic dying. The general public ought to IMMEDIATELY have full entry to the Uvalde Police report. I’ll maintain preventing for #TX23.”
Within the tweet, Gonzales included a screenshot of a message purportedly despatched by legal professional Robert Barrera, who’s representing Santos-Aviles’ husband, Adrian Aviles. Within the connected correspondence, Barrera writes that he’s contemplating weighing a lawsuit towards Gonzales that could possibly be “damaging to his profession.”
“That’s clearly not my aim or we’d have filed this declare already,” Barrera writes. “That being stated, I’m again to my authentic provide of settlement with a Non-Disclosure [stet] settlement.”
Though Barrera’s message doesn’t lay out a exact settlement provide, the legal professional states that, beneath the Congressional Accountability Act (CAA), the “most recoverable quantity” for congressional staffers who sue after dealing with discrimination, harassment or labor violations at work is $300,000. Attributable to deadlines outlined within the CAA, “time is of the essence,” Barrera provides.
“If you’re nicely sufficient to go to I might be pleased to take action,” Barrera continues. “If not, when you or your workers might let me know with whom I needs to be conferring that will be nice. I hope its [stet] you!”
The Categorical-Information report accusing Gonzales — a married “household first” Republican with six children — of getting an affair together with his staffer was the third and deepest-reported story from a information outlet looking for to romantically hyperlink the pair. Proper-wing weblog Present Revolt was first, adopted by Britain’s The Day by day Mail.
“Tony abused his energy,” Santos-Aviles’ husband instructed the Categorical-Information in an interview. “He ought to have held himself to a better commonplace as a congressional chief.”
Aviles additionally took to social media platform X Thursday morning to dispute Gonzales’ blackmail allegation. He blasted the congressman of refusing to take accountability and accused him of mendacity.
“You’re a basic case of a two-faced politician who says no matter is handy to avoid wasting face,” Aviles tweeted.
Gonzales’ scandal comes as he’s locked within the Republican main for Texas’s twenty third Congressional district. The three-term congressman faces two different candidates in that contest, together with Brandon Herrera, a gun-influencer who narrowly misplaced to Gonzales two years in the past in a runoff.
“You might be responsible and may resign,” Herrera commented on Gonzales’ put up.
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Associated Tales
The Categorical-Information withdrew its endorsement of Gonzales but in addition declined to help Herrera, whose controversial previous remarks have drawn scrutiny.
MAGA congressional candidate Brandon Herrera’s jab got here in an e-mail boasting that his marketing campaign has raised $1.1 million since August.
San Antonio’s each day newspaper is the third publication to allege the married South Texas congressman was romantically linked to the now deceased staffer.
