Kirsten Gillibrand: Aide's Misconduct Claim 'Did Not Rise To The Level Of Sexual Harassment'

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) doubled down on her team’s handling of a sexual harassment claim  on Monday evening. 

“We conducted a thorough and professional investigation and the person was accused was punished,” Gillibrand told a group of reporters, adding that her office takes “these kinds of allegations very seriously.”

“We investigated claims of sexual harassment and derogatory comments. We interviewed all current employees that had relevant information,” she continued. “We were able to substantiate derogatory comments and not able to substantiate the sexual harassment. The sexual harassment claims did not rise to the level of sexual harassment.” 

The Democratic presidential hopeful made headlines on Monday morning when Politico reported that an unidentified female staffer had resigned in protest last summer after the aide said the senator mishandled her sexual harassment claim against a male employee.

The former female staffer alleged that Gillibrand’s special assistant Abbas Malik repeatedly made sexual advances after he was told he would be promoted to become the woman’s manager. Additionally, she accused Malik of making crude and misogynistic comments about other female colleagues and rating the appearances of potential female hires. 

“I told this employee at the time that she was loved, that we loved her,” Gillibrand said Monday evening. “I deeply valued her, which is why we took her allegations immediately, investigated them immediately, and did a professional and thorough investigation.”

Malik was ultimately denied that promotion and pay rise after Gillibrand’s office investigated the female staffer’s sexual harassment claims. He kept his job, but Gillibrand said Monday that he “was unable to have unsupervised contact” with the aide. 

Gillibrand has come under fire for the situation because of her own outspoken record on tackling sexual assault in the military and government. 

Malik, who is married and a decade older than the female staffer, was let go from Gillibrand’s team last week, after Politico presented its own investigation of separate workplace misconduct claims against him.