WASHINGTON — Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, settled a 2014 sexual harassment claim lodged by a former employee, two sources tell NBC News, a revelation that represents the first taxpayer-funded settlement of its kind that has so far been made public.
Farenthold’s former communications director, Lauren Greene, brought the complaint against him for sexual harassment and discrimination. Both parties agreed to settle out of court in 2015.
Rep. Gregg Harper of Mississippi, the top Republican on the House Administration Committee, told House Republicans on Friday morning in a closed-door meeting that the Office of Compliance had made just one settlement for sexual harassment complaints, in the amount of $84,000 since 2012.
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Two sources familiar with the case confirmed to NBC News that that settlement was for the complaint against Farenthold. That the congressman involved was Farenthold was first reported by Politico.
“While I 100% support more transparency with respect to claims against members of Congress, I can neither confirm nor deny that settlement involved my office as the Congressional Accountability Act prohibits me from answering that question,” Farenthold said in a statement.
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After the case was settled, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation. That case is still open, according to an annual report by the committee.
Farenthold’s payment to Greene was paid by the Office of Compliance, a little-known office that has received increased scrutiny since the issue of sexual harassment has gained prominence around the country and on Capitol Hill.
When a settlement is reached through the office, the victim is paid from a taxpayer-funded account. More than $17 million worth of payments have been made over the past 20 years for various workplace disputes, but it’s unknown — other than Farenthold’s $84,000 payment — how much of that has been for sexual harassment claims.