Topline
A legislative aide for Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) is no longer employed by the Senate, according to Politico, after he was publicly connected to an explicit video that emerged Friday of two men having sex in a congressional hearing room, and after he admitted on social media he had shown ”poor judgement.”
Democratic staffer Aidan Maese-Czeropski wrote on social media he had gone through a “difficult … [+] time,” but did not respond to the alleged ties to the video.
Key Facts
Cardin’s office said in a statement to Politico that Aidan Maese-Czeropski was no longer employed by his office, but did not provide additional details on the “personnel matter.”
A graphic eight-second video of the Hart Senate Office Building sex scene was published Friday evening by right-wing outlet the Daily Caller, which said the tape had circulated in private group chats.
The Daily Caller did not identify either of the men in the video and blurred the face of one person it identified as a Senate staffer, but Maese-Czeropski’s name was shared on social media and later repeated by conservative outlets like the New York Post (most major news outlets haven’t confirmed he was in the video).
Hours before the Daily Caller story broke, the Spectator reported an unnamed Cardin staffer had posted on social media a nude photo of himself in a Hart hearing room.
Capitol Police said in a statement to the Washington Examiner they are looking into the incident.
Neither Maese-Czeropski nor Cardin immediately responded to requests for comment from Forbes.
Contra
In a statement on LinkedIn, Maese-Czeropski said “some of my actions in the past have shown poor judgement.” He did not directly deny the allegations, but said he would “never disrespect my workplace,” adding he would consider legal action against anyone who claims otherwise. He added, “This has been a difficult time for me” and wrote he has “been attacked for who I love to pursue a political agenda.”
Tangent
Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) told the Daily Caller on Friday Maese-Czeropski was the staffer who approached him and said “free Palestine” during an interview with NBC News earlier this week, an unusual incident reported by NBC’s Ali Vitali. Maese-Czeropski said on LinkedIn he has “never seen the congressman and had no opportunity or cause to yell or confront him.”
Key Background
Maese-Czeropski has worked in Cardin’s office since October 2021, when he was hired as a staff assistant, according to his LinkedIn. He previously worked as a foreign policy legislative correspondent for Cardin before being named one of his legislative aides in November. Before joining Cardin’s office, he worked as a fellow at climate group Friends of the Earth and as a Democratic Party of Virginia organizer during the 2020 election.
Further Reading
Playbook: Senate Staffer Out After Sex Tape Scandal (Politico)
