The campaign of a Republican congresswoman from California has accused her Democratic opponent of engineering a legal defense for her client who blames the victim for alleged sexual harassment, and her opponent is fighting back.
Rep. Michelle Steele, who holds a Democratic-leaning Orange County seat, is expected to hold a key Republican seat in the November election and will face off against Rep. Derek Tran.
Tran is a lawyer and military veteran who recently represented a former employee of the warehouse market chain who denied accusations made by two women.
In the suit, plaintiff Luis Pacheco alleged he was wrongfully fired from a warehouse market in San Bernardino County after two women, with whom he had “consensual relationships” and remains friendly, accused him of sexual harassment, according to court documents.
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Congressman Michelle Steele (R-CA) (Getty)
Pacheco alleged that Market and the other defendants conducted a “fake investigation” and that he was automatically fired. [him] Because he was a man.”
“Plaintiff Pacheco was discriminated against because of his gender due to the political climate and the 'Me Too' movement. Plaintiff Pacheco believes that Defendants automatically chose the female side because of his gender without considering his explanation,” the document states.
Lance Trover, a spokesman for Steele, said Tran “made protecting women a platform of her campaign, yet she chose to side with an alleged sexual abuser.”
“Not as an attorney, but as an effort to enrich his client and himself. Voters have a right to be accountable to the person they want to represent them in Congress,” he said.
Steele's campaign used “Me Too” references in campaign ads and correspondence to criticize Tran's legal defense.
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A woman wearing a “Vote” T-shirt prepares mail-in ballots to be counted at a polling station in Pennsylvania. (Amy Dilger/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
But Tran sold the firm midway through the litigation, and new management took over the ongoing litigation, including Pacheco's case.
In a statement Orange County RegisterTom Feher, the current attorney in the case, said the California Superior Court has ruled that Pacheco's complaint has merit and that the case will likely go forward to trial.
“[That is] “This is despite the efforts of corporations to deny my clients access to justice. As a labor rights lawyer, my job is to uphold the law and get justice for workers. It has nothing to do with politics.”
But Tran's campaign fired back, calling Steele “the last person who should be criticizing others for how they treat victims” and “just as Derek Tran has fought his career.”
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A roll of “I Voted” stickers is being kept on file at the Maricopa County Counting and Elections Center (MCTEC) in preparation for the 2024 Arizona Primary and General Election. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
“Throughout her career, Michelle Steele has put corporations and political extremists above women's rights. Steele voted against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2021, voted against expanding protections for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, and led an effort to ban abortion nationwide with no exceptions in cases of rape, incest or if a woman's life is taken,” a spokesperson for Tran's campaign said.
Regarding his vote, Trover responded that Steele opposed the “partisan” reiteration of the Violence Against Women Act but supported the compromise legislation that followed.
Cook PVI rates Steele's district as D+2, meaning she is one of the few Republicans defending her seat in a Democratic-majority district, whose boundaries were slightly reworked after the 2020 census.
Recent polls show the race is close.
