SAN DIEGO _ A former Capitol Hill staffer went public Wednesday with an allegation that Rep. Duncan Hunter of California groped her when the two were at a Republican Party dinner five years ago.
Rory Riley Topping, a former House Committee on Veterans Affairs employee who now works as a consultant in Washington, D.C., told the Russian television network RT on Wednesday that the incident occurred at a National Republican Congressional Committee event in 2014.
"Duncan Hunter clearly appeared intoxicated and he came up to me and said he wanted to speak to me about Agent Orange, which was an issue the committee was dealing with at the time," Riley Topping told the interviewer.
"I in response said, 'I'm happy to reach out to your staff and follow up on that,' and he leaned into me very closely and said, 'No, I want to talk to you'," she added. "And I felt very uncomfortable and tried to back up and he reached around and put his hand on my behind and said, 'Let me give you my cellphone number.' I immediately kind of backed up and pushed him away."
A spokesman for the congressman did not comment on the allegation.
"I am aware of the story," Hunter spokesman Michael Harrison wrote in an email. "The office does not have any comment on this at this time."
Hunter is a veteran of the Marine Corps, and has devoted much of his congressional service to veterans' issues.
The accusation came two days after federal prosecutors alleged in a court filing that Hunter illegally used thousands of dollars of campaign donations to carry on extramarital affairs with five women, including three lobbyists and two congressional staffers.
Hunter was co-indicted with his wife, Margaret, last year on 60 criminal counts of misusing political contributions and lying and filing false paperwork to hide their crimes.
Both Hunters initially denied all the charges, but earlier this month Margaret Hunter agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy and to testify against her husband. She faces up to five years in prison when sentenced later this year.
The six-term Republican congressman from Alpine has not commented on the recently publicized allegations that he was unfaithful to his wife _ and paid for many of the hotels, meals and drinks with campaign funds.
In numerous public statements since he was indicted, Duncan Hunter said the spending was a mistake. He said he repaid his campaign all of the questionable expenses _ about $60,000 over the past several years _ and said the prosecution is politically motivated.
The RT interview was posted on YouTube Wednesday and quickly drew hundreds of views. It also generated dozens of comments from viewers.
"Good interview," wrote one commenter. "This is the least of his crimes against humanity," wrote another.
The last comment appears to be a reference to another comment Hunter made recently when discussing the trial of U.S. Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, who is charged with killing an injured Iraqi fighter brought to him for medical treatment and with shooting at civilians while deployed in Afghanistan. Gallagher has pleaded not guilty.
Hunter told an audience several weeks ago that his Marine unit also killed civilians _ and posed with photos of corpses _ while he was deployed to the Middle East before he was elected to Congress in 2008.
