2026年5月13日 晚上7:08 美东时间 / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
作者：安妮·格雷尔
更新于2026年5月13日 晚上7:17 美东时间
首发于2026年5月13日 晚上7:08 美东时间
美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）审查最新披露的文件后发现，数十年来，纳税人已为多起国会性骚扰和解案件支付了逾50万美元——总额高于此前公开的数字。
最初提交给国会的文件显示，纳税人已为6名前美国众议院议员或其所在办公室支付了逾30万美元。
但实际总金额远高于此。
美国国会职场权利办公室（Office of Congressional Workplace Rights）在最初向国会提交的材料中，遗漏了代表前民主党众议员阿尔西·黑斯廷斯支付的22万美元和解金。黑斯廷斯已于2021年去世。这笔款项是目前已知金额最高的国会性骚扰和解金，几乎将上周披露的纳税人资助此类案件的总金额翻了一番。黑斯廷斯此前曾称相关指控“荒唐可笑”。
据CNN审查的信件显示，该办公室在写给众议院监督委员会主席詹姆斯·科默的信中解释称，这笔付款不符合其最初的搜索标准——最初仅针对议员办公室产生的和解金。在黑斯廷斯的案件中，和解涉及欧洲安全与合作委员会，而黑斯廷斯当时担任该委员会主席。
一名曾在该委员会工作的雇员（CNN审查的文件中隐去了其姓名）最初于2010年提起诉讼，但直到2014年才拿到和解金。
在整个案件过程中，该雇员指控黑斯廷斯多次实施性骚扰，并声称自己因提出指控而遭到报复。
该雇员在2013年的一封信中称，自己感觉整个程序的设计都是为了偏袒雇主。
“在我还没机会会见法院指定的律师之前，调解员就试图替我定义‘什么最符合我的利益’，这完全超出了她的职责范围，也表明她完全无视我聘请律师的权利，”该雇员写道，“她的行为进一步印证了我的看法：在整个案件中，合规办公室主要是为那些违反《国会问责法》的议员服务的工具，同时也损害了受害者的权利。”
CNN审查的这份保密和解协议对该雇员施加了限制和处罚条款，禁止其对外谈论本案，但并未对雇主施加同样的限制。
《国会山报》2017年曾报道过这笔22万美元和解金的存在。报道称，黑斯廷斯表示自己从未对该雇员实施过性骚扰，并再次称相关指控“荒唐可笑”。当时黑斯廷斯在一份声明中称，直到和解达成后他才知晓此事。
当时《国会山报》将指控者的身份披露为温瑟姆·帕克。CNN采访了帕克，她证实自己就是文件中隐去姓名的雇员。帕克告诉CNN，自站出来指控以来，她的生活受到了严重影响，此后一直无法找到工作或职业发展机会。她还表示，扣除税款后，她实际拿到的和解金远低于22万美元。
“人们不会谈论提起诉讼后会发生什么。我一直找不到工作，”帕克对CNN说。
CNN已尝试联系黑斯廷斯的家人置评。
在美国共和党众议员南希·梅斯发出传票后，美国国会职场权利办公室被迫向国会提交了和解文件。此前两起备受瞩目的辞职事件均涉及性行为不端指控，梅斯一直在国会推动相关透明度和问责制的工作。
CNN审查了超过1000页的案件档案，包括律师笔记、和解文件和正式投诉，得以了解部分议员利用职权虐待下属的指控细节。
美国国会职场权利办公室处理针对议员的各类投诉，并非仅涉及性骚扰指控。
该办公室总法律顾问在写给众议院监督委员会主席詹姆斯·科默的信中表示，1996年1月1日至2018年12月12日期间，该办公室共批准了349笔裁决或和解金，“以解决针对立法分支办公室的投诉”。其中80起案件由众议院或参议院办公室出于各种原因达成和解。在这80起案件中，有7起是为解决性骚扰指控而支付的款项。信中提到的付款使用了财政部一个已不再作为议员选项的账户中的纳税人资金。
根据该办公室的文件留存政策，美国国会职场权利权管辖范围内的23份和解案件档案已被销毁。
“这项‘美国国会职场权利办公室文件留存政策’于2013年出台，旨在使该办公室与政府整体的文件留存规范保持一致，”总法律顾问约翰·N·奥韦勒写道。
CNN审查的和解合同通用条款并未显示被指控的办公室承认存在任何不当行为。相反，正如某份和解协议所述，双方达成和解是为了“避免长期诉讼带来的不便，以及双方和纳税人为此类诉讼承担的费用”。和解协议还规定了办公室应如何处理与雇员解雇条款或条件相关的问题。
2018年#MeToo运动后出台的政策变更规定，议员不得再使用纳税人资金支付和解金。众议院道德委员会在近期一份声明中表示，新法实施以来，“委员会未收到任何关于议员性骚扰指控的裁决或和解通知”。
Previously unaccounted for case shows taxpayers bankrolled more than $550,000 in congressional sexual harassment settlements
2026-05-13 07:08 PM ET / CNN
By Annie Grayer
Updated May 13, 2026, 7:17 PM ET
PUBLISHED May 13, 2026, 7:08 PM ET
The US Capitol is seen, Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Washington.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
Taxpayers paid over half a million dollars in confidential congressional sexual harassment settlements dating back decades – a total higher than previously made public, newly released documents reviewed by CNN show.
Documents initially shared with Congress revealed that taxpayers had paid more than $300,000 on behalf of six former members of the US House of Representatives or their offices.
But the total amount was far higher.
In its initial production to Congress, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights had missed a $220,0000 payment on behalf of former Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings, who died in 2021. The payment marks the single biggest congressional sexual harassment settlement known to date and nearly doubles the tax-payer funded total for such cases disclosed last week. Hastings previously called the allegations “ludicrous.”
The office explained in a letter to House Oversight Chair James Comer that the payment did not meet the office’s initial search criteria, which was just targeting settlements made on behalf of the office of a lawmaker, according to the letter reviewed by CNN. In Hastings’ case, the settlement involved the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which Hastings chaired at the time.
An employee who had worked for the commission, whose name is redacted in the files reviewed by CNN, initially filed a complaint in 2010, but did not receive the payment until 2014.
Throughout the case, the employee alleged multiple instances of sexual harassment by Hastings and claimed that she was faced retaliation for bringing her claims forward.
In a 2013 letter, the employee described feeling the system was designed to benefit the employer throughout the process.
“The mediator’s attempt to define for me ‘what is in my best interest’ before I have had the opportunity to meet with the court-appointed attorney completely oversteps the boundaries of her responsibilities and demonstrates a clear disregard of my rights to counsel,” the employee wrote. “Her conduct further underlines my belief throughout this case that the Office of Compliance is primarily designed to serve as a tool for members of congress who violate the Congressional Accountability Act and undermine the rights of the victims.”
The confidential settlement reviewed by CNN imposed restrictions and penalties, barring the employee from ever speaking out about the case, but did not put those same limitations on the employer.
Roll Call reported on the existence of the $220,000 settlement in 2017. The report stated that Hastings said that he never sexually harassed the employee and called the allegations “ludicrous.” In a statement at the time, Hastings said that he did not know until after the fact that a settlement had been made.
At the time, Roll Call named the accuser as Winsome Packer. CNN spoke with Packer, who confirmed that she is the employee whose name is redacted in the documents. Packer told CNN that her life has been severely impacted since coming forward and that she has not been able to find work or career opportunities since. She also said that after taxes, her settlement was much lower than $220,000.
“People don’t talk about what happens after you file a claim. I have never been able to find work,” Packer told CNN.
CNN has attempted to reach out to family members of Hastings to request comment
The Office of Congressional Workplace Rights was compelled to turn over the settlement documents to Congress following a subpoena from GOP Rep. Nancy Mace. She has helped lead an effort on Capitol Hill to push for transparency and accountability following recent sexual misconduct allegations that led to a pair of high-profile resignations.
A CNN review of over 1,000 pages of case files, including counsel notes, settlement documents and formal complaints, offers a window into allegations that certain members leveraged their positions of power to mistreat their staff.
The Office of Congressional Workplace Rights is involved with a range of complaints against members, not exclusively sexual harassment claims.
From January 1, 1996, through December 12, 2018, the office approved 349 awards or settlements “to resolve complaints against legislative branch offices,” its general counsel said in a letter sent to House Oversight Chair James Comer obtained by CNN. Eighty of those cases were settled by a House or Senate office for a host of different reasons. From that subset, seven cases led to payments to address allegations of sexual harassment. The payments referenced in the letter used taxpayer money from a Treasury account that no longer exists as an option for lawmakers.
Twenty-three case files of settlements in the jurisdiction of the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights were destroyed pursuant to the office’s record retention policy.
“This ‘OCWR Record Retention Policy’ was put in place in 2013 to align OCWR with regular government-wide record retention practices,” General Counsel John N. Ohlweiler wrote.
The general language of the settlement contracts reviewed by CNN do not show the accused office admitting to any wrongdoing. Rather, they state the office is agreeing to the settlement “to avoid the inconvenience of protracted litigation and the expense to the parties and the taxpayers of such litigation,” as one settlement read. The settlement agreements also lay out how the office is meant to handle questions related to the terms or conditions of the claimant’s termination of employment.
Following policy changes made in 2018 in the wake of the #MeToo Movement, members can no longer rely on taxpayer dollars for settlements. The House Ethics Committee announced in a recent statement that since the enactment of the new law, “the Committee has not been notified of any awards or settlements relating to allegations of sexual harassment by a member.”
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