Politics

The governor of Pennsylvania was allegedly threatened by an ex-aide to Josh Shapiro

The governor of Pennsylvania was allegedly threatened by an ex-aide to Josh Shapiro, causing the woman to cry.

Later, Mike Vereb resigned in response to separate sexual harassment claims.

An email the woman submitted to state lawmakers in 2023, five years after the claimed encounter, states that she was left “weeping and in shock” by a former staffer to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro after he allegedly threatened her over the phone in 2018.

“By the time he and Josh were done with me, I would be worse than nothing,” the woman allegedly stated on the conversation, using Shapiro’s name. She asked for her identity to be kept private in an interview with ABC News.

“You are going to continue to be nothing by the time Josh and I get done with you,” the lady reportedly said, citing Vereb’s comments. She told ABC News that Vereb’s “freely” allusion to authorities “shaken” her.

“Obviously part of what left me shaken was not just Mr. Vereb’s aggressive and unrelenting tone, but how freely he made it seem he was speaking beyond himself,” she continued.

The allegation of the 2018 incident—which has not been previously publicized—occurs at the same time as Shapiro is becoming more and more visible as a top candidate to accompany Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for president.

Shapiro, the state attorney general of Pennsylvania at the time, does not appear to have known about Vereb’s purportedly threatening call.

Vereb, who was formerly among Shapiro’s closest aides, is the subject of two accusations of misconduct, the most recent of which occurred in 2018. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Shapiro administration resolved a separate sexual harassment lawsuit against Vereb in September for about $300,000 after bringing him to the governor’s office in early 2023. Vereb resigned a few weeks later.

The claims made against Vereb, according to critics, beg the question of whether Shapiro ought to have been aware of his purported behavior and taken more steps to stop it.

Shapiro’s spokesman, Manuel Bonder, asserted that the woman’s complaint had not reached the then-attorney general and he also denounced Vereb’s purported actions more widely.

In a statement to ABC News, Bonder stated, “This incident occurred six years ago and was not reported to agency leadership at the time.” “This alleged behavior would be completely inappropriate and would not be tolerated — and any use of the Governor’s name in this manner is unacceptable.”

A few weeks after Vereb’s retirement in the autumn of 2023, the lady sent an email to a number of state senators, both Republican and Democratic, and one of Shapiro’s deputy chiefs of staff, detailing her experience.

The October 2023 email, which ABC News was able to get, was her account of the phone call. “[Vereb] confronted and threatened me that evening leaving me weeping and in shock standing alone in a parking lot,” she wrote. “Then and now I was struck by how he seemed so at ease in threatening me.”

She stated in her letter that she had brought up the issue in 2018, even spoke with someone in Shapiro’s office who “compassionately listened” before passing away and not responding. What the employee did with the knowledge before to her death is unknown.

The woman, who identified as an independent but had previously registered as a Republican, alluded to the use of the governor’s name in her email from 2023. She stated that Vereb was “naming a handful of folks with some power in Harrisburg” and that there was “some implication of the OAG,” which looks to be the Office of the Attorney General.

The lady, who is in charge of a separate nonprofit advocacy group for abused children, said in writing that she spoke with Vereb on the phone in 2018 over a disagreement over policy between her office and the attorney general’s office.

As Pennsylvania’s attorney general, Shapiro backed an amendment to the state’s Child Protective Services Law following his office’s well-publicized probe into child abuse inside the state’s Catholic church. She claimed that Vereb’s contact was sparked by her organization’s retreat on some of the proposed laws, noting possible “unintended consequences,” in her letter.

After learning that Shapiro’s administration had reached a settlement with an employee who had accused Vereb of sexual harassment and retaliation, the woman wrote in the email that she felt compelled to come forward once more. She added that “the recounting of how she felt intimidated and retaliated against resonated with me.”

“Shapiro and his Administration take every allegation of discrimination and harassment extremely seriously and have robust procedures in place to thoroughly investigate all reports,” a spokesperson for the $300,000 sexual harassment settlement that Shapiro’s administration mediated said. However, “in order to protect the privacy of every current and former Commonwealth employee involved, the Administration does not comment further on specific personnel matters.”

Republican state representative Abby Major, who was among those who received the woman’s 2023 email, told ABC News on Wednesday that she had known the woman from her legislative work and that she was “proud” of her for coming forward the previous year. Major implied that even if Shapiro was not aware of this particular incident, he was still accountable for Vereb’s well-known antics.

Democratic candidate Erin McClelland for Pennsylvania Treasurer seems to take issue with Shapiro’s handling of the X sexual harassment accusation last week.

“I want a VP pick that’s secure enough to be second under a woman, is content to be VP & won’t undermine the President to maneuver his own election & doesn’t sweep sexual harassment under the rug,” she stated.

Vereb resigned, but Shapiro’s handling of the sexual harassment settlement and his ability to deal with women were backed by other Democrats in the state.

Democratic state representative Malcolm Kenyatta stated last Monday, “We know that Josh Shapiro would be an incredible pick [as the vice presidential nominee] — I hope that he is highly considered.” “But obviously, Vice President Harris knows what she’s doing.”

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