Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand took questions from reporters Monday evening outside the Capitol building, addressing for the first time allegations that her office didn’t properly probe an allegation of sexual harassment last year.
Gillibrand defended her office’s investigation, calling it “thorough and professional,” “thorough and complete,” “professional and thorough,” and said it was done “thoroughly and appropriately,” according to Politico, which was first to report on the allegations Monday. Despite Gillibrand’s defense of thoroughness, she ultimately fired the man at the center of the allegations last week after Politico presented her office with the findings of their investigation.
Last summer, a female staffer in Gillibrand’s office resigned over the office’s handling of an investigation into allegations that a senior aide, Abbas Malik, had made unwanted sexual advances toward her and had a reputation for making lewd jokes and demeaning comments about women’s appearance.
At the time, Malik was disciplined following Gillibrand’s investigation into the matter, but remained on staff.
