The California Democratic Party has launched an investigation into unspecified allegations of sexual misconduct against Chairman Eric Bauman involving party staff members.
In a statement released Saturday evening, Bauman confirmed an investigation was underway but did not address the allegations against him. He said that independent counsel has been hired to investigate the matter.
"I look forward to putting these allegations behind us and moving forward as unified Democrats," Bauman said in the statement.
Last week, Daraka Larimore-Hall, a vice chairman of the state party, sent a letter to state Democratic Party leadership calling for Bauman's removal.
In the letter sent on Tuesday, Larimore-Hall said he learned of the allegations during a recent party executive board meeting a week ago. He said he had spoken to two of the alleged victims and that their stories "illustrate a clear and escalating pattern of Chairman Bauman's horrific and dehumanizing behavior."
Larimore-Hall declined to provide details of the specific allegations and said in a public statement on Saturday that he was withholding the names of those involved to protect their privacy.
According to state Democratic Party sources, the outside counsel hired to investigate the allegations is Debra Henshaw Vierra, an employment law attorney at the Sacramento law firm Churchwell White.
Bauman has been under investigation for at least one harassment complaint involving employees prior to the Nov. 6 election, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
