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Rep. Vance McAllister, who ran on a "faith, family, and country" platform for his freshman term in the House, was caught on video kissing a member of his staff. McAllister, a married Republican from Louisiana, was elected to replace Rep. Rodney Alexander in a special election last November. The video was first posted to the the Ouachita Citizen's website on Monday. Later on Monday, McAllister released a statement "asking for forgiveness."
The blurry video — which was seems to be recorded from security footage of McAllister's district office in Monroe, Louisiana on December 23 — shows the Congressman embracing and kissing a woman who has been identified by the paper as one of his aides. Although the video does not contain a clear close up of McAllister's face, reporter Zach Parker at the Citizen explained to the Wire that "we know McAllister. We know what he looks like. I believe he spoke to the Monroe Chamber of Commerce in that same shirt and jacket, too." The Ouachita Citizen notes that they obtained the video through an anonymous source, and identified both McAllister and the aide in question as its subjects. They also recognized the office shown on the video, which previously served as former Rep. Alexander's Monroe district offices.
Here's the rest of McAllister's statement in response to the video, according to the Monroe News-Star:
There’s no doubt I’ve fallen short and I’m asking for forgiveness. I’m asking for forgiveness from God, my wife, my kids, my staff and my constituents who elected me to serve. Trust is something I know has to be earned whether you’re a husband, a father or a congressman. I promise to do everything I can to earn back the trust of everyone I’ve disappointed. From day one, I’ve always tried to be an honest man. I ran for Congress to make a difference and not just be another politician.
I don’t want to make a political statement on this, I would just simply like to say that I’m very sorry for what I’ve done. While I realize I serve the public, I would appreciate the privacy given to my children as we get through this.”
McAllister will likely be under pressure to reconcile his alleged actions with the pro-family, Christian values campaign he ran to get into office in the first place. McAllister as a candidate had endorsements from the Duck Dynasty family, and ran a series of ads emphasizing his family and his 16-year marriage:
This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.
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