On Friday, May 31, 2024, a seven-year-old article about hush money payments was shared by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie.
The story from CNN focuses on a report released by the Office of Compliance, effectively revealing that, from 1997 to 2017, Congress paid out more than $17 million in settlements.
There have been over 268 settlements across the 20-year period, all of which came from taxpayers’ money through a special fund within the U.S. Treasury. This was made possible by the passing of the Congressional Accountability Act in 1995.
While it was unclear as to how much of the $17million was for sexual harassment-related settlements due to the complex reporting system within the Office of Compliance, a source familiar with the process told the network that more than two-fifths of harassment claims are settled after mediation.
Yesterday (Thursday), Donald Trump became the first former president to be convicted of a felony following his five-week hush money trial in the Democrat-leaning suburb of Manhatton.
After the initial shock at such a landmark decision, social media users flocked to Rep. Massie’s post on X.
Many saw the hypocritical side of Congress, particularly given the seismic differences between Trump’s $130,000 case and Congress’ $17 million use of taxpayer money.
Far more users, however, called for Congress to release the names of those who had been involved with the settlements, with one user claiming that “everything is fair game now”.
What’s your view? Does this seem hypocritical by Congress? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
