Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) was allegedly spotted kissing a younger congressional staffer back in 2023. Three years later, the House Ethics Committee has finally opened a formal investigation into whether Gomez "may have engaged in sexual misconduct in violation of the Code of Official Conduct."
If he had an R next to his name, you'd already know the staffer's shoe size.
The committee, chaired by Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS) and co-chaired by Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), announced the probe on August 17. The allegations center on Gomez engaging in inappropriate sexual contact with a House staffer — the kind of thing that used to end careers, back when the rules applied evenly.
The committee issued the standard legal boilerplate: "The Committee notes that the mere fact that it is investigating these allegations...does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred." Fair enough. That's how it's supposed to work.
But Gomez's own statement is where things get interesting. He acknowledged he "made personal mistakes outside my marriage" — a phrase that does a lot of heavy lifting — while insisting "my actions were consensual in nature and haven't violated the law or House Ethics rules."
So to recap: he admits the conduct happened. He just disagrees with the characterization. "I take full responsibility and have committed myself to working through the pain privately," Gomez added, before expressing confidence that "a full and impartial review of the facts will bear that out."
Here's the part nobody in mainstream media will touch. This is the same Jimmy Gomez who formed the Congressional Dads Caucus in 2023 — the same year he was allegedly kissing a staffer who was not his wife. A caucus dedicated to, and we're quoting the mission here, being a better example for America's families.
You could write a sitcom around this and the network would reject it for being too on the nose.
Now imagine this story with the parties reversed. Imagine a Republican congressman — one who started a family values caucus, no less — caught with a younger staffer and then investigated by the Ethics Committee for sexual misconduct. CNN would interrupt weather coverage. MSNBC would launch a twelve-part documentary series. The New York Times would have a dedicated landing page by lunchtime.
Instead, this story is getting the treatment that inconvenient Democrat scandals always get. A brief mention, a quiet investigation, and a gentleman's agreement among the press corps to let it slide below the fold.
Gomez says his actions were consensual. The Ethics Committee says they're investigating whether they violated the Code of Official Conduct. Both of those things can be true at once — "consensual" and "a violation of House rules" aren't mutually exclusive categories, no matter how carefully your PR team words the statement.
He formed a caucus about being a good dad the same year the alleged misconduct happened. The Ethics Committee is just now getting around to investigating it. And the only sound from the networks is the hum of the air conditioning.
Somewhere, a cable news producer is working very hard to not notice.