Chuck Schumer asks Capitol Police for investigation after forged document circulates accusing him of sexual harassment
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
- Sen. Chuck Schumer alerted Capitol Police following the circulation of a fake report accusing him of harassment by a former staffer.
- Many of the allegations in the document were proved to be false, including dates where Schumer allegedly lewd acts.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's office on Tuesday said it had alerted the Capitol Police after a forged document was circulated which accused him of sexual harassment.
Axios reported on Tuesday that a forged 13-page document claiming to be signed by a former staffer was circulated to several news outlets, including ABC, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and BuzzFeed News.
The unnamed staffer told Axios the she did not author the document, which was dated 2012 and resembled a lawsuit filed in the US District Court in DC. The staffer said "none of the charges ring true, and that her signature was forged," Axios said.
"The document is a forged document and every allegation is false," Schumer spokesperson Matt House said. "We have turned it over to the Capitol Police and asked them to investigate and pursue criminal charges because it is clear the law has been broken."
Axios said the document had obvious flaws, including allegations that Schumer committed acts in Washington, DC, on days when he was in New York and France. There was no lawyer named for the plaintiff in the suit.
The Capitol Police didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.