“I have now heard of 4 women who have had multiple and uncomfortable/inappropriate advances/comments/touching, etc. from Senator Gallego.”
Democrat Senator Ruben Gallego stayed out until all hours of the night partying at a club in Colombia and asked multiple embassy staffers to join him despite there being a credible threat to his life identified, according to a report from NOTUS. At the same time, he has been accused by Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna of making several "uncomfortable/inappropriate advances/comments/touching" toward multiple women.
The revelations come as Gallego's behavior while in Congress is under heavy scrutiny after several women have come forward with sexual assault and harassment allegations against his friend, former Rep. Eric Swalwell. The California Democrat resigned earlier this month.
https://twitter.com/RepLuna/status/2047298413952221557?s=20
"I have now heard of 4 women who have had multiple and uncomfortable/inappropriate advances/comments/touching, etc. from Senator Gallego. This is not made up and the Senate is being awfully quiet about it," Luna posted to X.
Gallego, as well as Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, were on a congressional delegation to Colombia that his office said was to “strengthen bilateral relations, as well as discuss organized crime, the business climate, and China’s growing influence in the country."
However, how he behaved on the trip raised some eyebrows, according to the outlet. During the August trip, embassy staff had received a credible threat to Gallego's life. He was at dinner after being informed of the threat and decided to stay out and then walked to a nightclub. Gallego and his chief of staff then messaged employees at the embassy to come meet up with them. One female embassy employee reported that she got a message from Gallego to come out. It is not clear if the employees went out with Gallego.
The Senator eventually went back to his hotel at around 3 am. Later that morning, his chief of staff had to get a room key to retrieve Gallego and get him to take the bus, sources familiar with the matter told the outlet.
“The U.S. Department of State does not confirm or deny the existence of any internal investigations,” a State Department official said in a statement. Moreno was not at the dinner, according to the report, and the Republican senator's spokesman declined to comment.
A spokesperson for Gallego claimed the senator “coordinated closely with embassy security throughout the trip, including on the evening in question, and followed all security guidance.”
“While at dinner at the conclusion of a successful congressional delegation trip, the Senator and his Chief of Staff invited Embassy staff to join them, a common way to recognize the work of those who support these visits,” the spokesperson added. “As one of the first Colombian-American Senators elected to Congress, Senator Gallego was proud of the work done in Colombia and looks forward to continuing efforts to strengthen U.S. ties in the Southern Hemisphere.”
After Swalwell resigned from Congress, Gallego tried to distance himself from the California lawmaker, claiming he had been lied to and that Swalwell lived a "double life." He said, when asked if they partied and drank together, “Look, we socialized, we went out.”
“I never saw him engage in any of the predatory behavior, harassment, sexual assault, or even like anything that I would say would rise to the occasion that that I would be able to, you know, not talk to his wife the next day and be able to look her in the eye,” Gallego said. “So again, I trusted this man. I trust this man, and it’s my fault.”
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