Rep. Pat Meehan Announces He Won't Seek Reelection

Meehan gave a disastrous interview to the Inquirer two days ago in response to the Times report. He “confirmed the outline of the Times story, which said the married 62-year-old expressed his romantic desires to his aide after she began a serious relationship with someone else, then grew hostile when she did not reciprocate,” the paper said.

Meehan also told the Inquirer he had a “deep affection” for the young aide, whom he saw as a “soul mate,” but claims he never actually pursued a relationship with her; he also said his aggressive behavior toward her could be attributed to stress surrounding a vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In explaining why he settled the claim confidentially with taxpayer money, Meehan said that House attorneys “advised him it was a practice that had been used before.”

In the letter to his campaign chair, Meehan called the events of the last week “a major distraction,” adding that he “need[s] to own it because it is my own conduct that fueled the matter.” Also in the letter, courtesy of the Inquirer:

“No characterization of the work relationship I shared with a uniquely close colleague could have been more personally harmful than when I described that co- worker as a ‘soul-mate,”’ he wrote. “I truly didn’t even consider or understand the full implications of the use of that term. Quite simply to me a soul-mate means a uniquely close person who is joined with you on a daily basis, in which you both share the routine successes and strains of a work day.”

Meehan has also reportedly informed House Speaker Paul Ryan of his decision.