Sep 22, 2018 - Politics & Policy

Chuck Grassley aide resigns after sexual harassment allegation

Marisa Fernandez

Chuck Grassley and Dianne Feinstein talking to their aides in a briefing room. — Chuck Grassley and Dianne Feinstein talk to their aides. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images.

Garrett Ventry, a press adviser for the Senate Judiciary Committee, resigned Saturday after NBC News confronted him with questions about a previous allegation of sexual harassment.

The big picture: Ventry, who denied any past "allegations of misconduct" to NBC News, was a communications aide to Committee Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and had been a coordinator for the committee's messaging involving Christine Blasey Ford's allegation that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a high school party in 1982.

Judiciary Committee Spokesman Taylor Foy told NBC News in a statement: "While (Ventry) strongly denies allegations of wrongdoing, he decided to resign to avoid causing any distraction from the work of the committee."
CRC Public Relations, the firm where Ventry had been on a temporary leave of absence while working for the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement: “Garrett was on a leave of absence from the company and as of this morning we have accepted his resignation."

The bottom line: "Republicans familiar with the situation had been concerned that Ventry, because of his history, could not lead an effective communications response," reports NBC News.

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Chuck Grassley aide resigns after sexual harassment allegation

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