Florida Democrat Alcee Hastings Accused of Sexual Harassment

Ten-term Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) has been accused of sexually harassing a female policy adviser, according to a lawsuit filed Monday by a conservative legal group called Judicial Watch. The lawsuit alleges Hastings made “unwelcome sexual advances” toward a female former employee, Winsome Packer, from January 2008 until February 2010, while the two worked on a commission together. The lawsuit also alleges that Hastings and his staff took retaliatory moves against Packer and threatened her job. Hastings denied the allegations. This is not the first time Judicial Watch has targeted a Democrat: It filed at least 18 lawsuits against the Clinton administration in the 1990s and filed a lawsuit in 2009 charging that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was constitutionally barred from her job—a lawsuit that was eventually thrown out by the Supreme Court.