Congressional ethics official accused in lawsuit of assaulting women: report

A top official at the Office of Congressional Ethics, who’s in charge of probes into allegations of sexual misconduct against lawmakers on Capitol Hill, is being accused of physically assaulting and verbally abusing women in connection with a 2015 bar brawl, Foreign Policy reported on Thursday.

According to documents obtained by the publication, Omar Ashmawy, the office’s chief counsel and staff director, is being sued by a men involved in the incident, which occurred in Milford, Pa.

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Ashmawy became “extremely violent and belligerent” after having several drinks at the bar, and verbally assaulted two women there, according to the complaint filed by Greg Martucci, which was seen by Foreign Policy.

Martucci said he also saw Ashmawy physically assaulting two women in the bar.

Three men at the bar were later arrested for assaulting Ashmawy, which the official claims was a “wholly unprovoked” attack, the publication reported.

Ashmawy himself was not arrested or charged with a crime that night, according to the report.

The police are reportedly still investigating the cause of the altercation.

Police statements obtained by Foreign Policy in connection with the brawl show that several women who were present at the time accused Ashmawy of verbally abusing and physically assaulting them. 

The wife of the bar owner said she was scared for her life after confronting Ashmawy for “clearly sexually harassing” one of the female bartenders and demanding sex, according to Foreign Policy.

Ashmawy and local law enforcement officials have filed for a dismissal of the case. A conference between all involved parties is scheduled for Jan. 5, according to the publication.

“To be clear, I did not harass anyone that evening, physically or verbally,” Ashmawy told Foreign Policy in a statement. “To the contrary, I was the victim of a wholly unprovoked assault for which those responsible were investigated, arrested and charged. Any allegation to the contrary is unequivocally false.”

According to the publication, Ashmawy is named as one of the officials who worked on investigations into former Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), who resigned recently after allegations of sexual harassment against him.