By Dom Calicchio | Fox News
U.S. Rep. Katie Hill, the California Democrat embroiled in a legal battle over the publication of nude photos, and facing a House ethics probe over an alleged affair with a male aide, paid a $5,100 “election bonus” to the aide in April, according to reports.
In addition, Hill used her “influence” to help her husband get a series of jobs at the nonprofit agency where she worked prior to being elected, according to court documents.
And Federal Election Commission records show that Hill – an openly bisexual 32-year-old married woman now facing a divorce — was paying consulting fees up until last month to a 24-year-old female campaign staffer with whom Hill has admitted having an “inappropriate” relationship, the Washington Examiner reported.
REP. KATIE HILL FIGHTS BACK AMID CLAIMS SHE WAS INVOLVED IN ROMANTIC ‘THROUPLE’ WITH STAFFER
The female staffer, identified as Morgan Desjardins, is the clothed woman seen having her hair brushed by a naked Hill in one of the photos recently posted online by the DailyMail. Hill, Desjardins and Hill’s now-estranged husband, Kenny Heslep, reportedly engaged in a “throupling” relationship that ended over the summer, the New York Post reported.
Hill admitted earlier this month that her relationship with Desjardins was “inappropriate.”
But it was reportedly the alleged relationship with the male aide, identified as Graham Kelly, that last week sparked a House Ethics Committee investigation of Hill because of House rules against sexual relationships with subordinates. The congresswoman has denied having a relationship with Kelly.
The allegation of a Hill-Kelly relationship was made in a now-deleted Facebook post by Heslep, RedState reported, and is said to be the prime reason for Heslep’s decision to seek a divorce from Hill, according to reports.
In a recent letter to her constituents, however, Hill contended that Heslep was “an abusive husband who seems determined to try to humiliate me.”
According to Newsweek, Hill asked U.S. Capitol Police to investigate whether posting of the nude photos violated any laws. Hill’s lawyers also recently sent a “cease and desist” order, demanding the images be taken down from the internet. But the photos were still visible on the DailyMail site as of early Sunday.
Kelly received the bonus April 27, and it was nearly twice the amount that three other Hill campaign staffers received, the Post reported. He had raised more than $8 million for Hill’s primary- and general election campaigns in 2018, according to the Post.
According to CNBC, divorce papers filed in Los Angeles include an assertion by Heslep that Hill wanted him to be what’s commonly called a “house husband.”
“She told me that she wanted me to stay at home and care for our household,” Heslep said, according to the report. “She told me that she did not like to do household chores and duties and wanted me to stay at home and do those things while she worked.”
Heslep claimed in his court filing that he has only a high school diploma and hasn’t worked since 2014, CNBC reported.
Prior to being elected to Congress, Hill worked for a nonprofit called People Assisting the Homeless, and Heslep contends in the divorce filings that Hill used her “influence” to get him a series of jobs with the organization, until he was laid off from the final role in 2014.
“I have not been employed since that time,” Heslep wrote, according to CNBC.
Heslep said Hill left him in June, taking the couple’s “only operable vehicle,” and he is now asking a judge to order Hill to pay him spousal support and attorney fees.
A spokesperson for Hill’s office did not immediately return Fox News’ request for comment.
