Hoover has ‘full’ support of GOP caucus? Not so fast, says group of GOP caucus members.

A group of eight Republican House members issued a stern statement Saturday saying that representatives enveloped in a sexual harassment scandal do not have the “full” support of the GOP caucus, as had been stated publicly the day before by caucus leadership.

“We are shocked and angered by the allegations of sexual harassment, none of which have been denied or even disputed,” said the statement from the eight GOP House members. “Contrary to what has been reported, the Representatives at issue did not have the ‘full’ support of the entire Republican caucus.

“Immediately upon becoming aware of the allegations published this week, we have worked aggressively to review all information available to us and attempted to gather additional information. Having done so, we call for the immediate resignation of all members involved in the confidential settlement of allegations of misconduct with legislative staff. We likewise call for the resignation of any house member or LRC staff that participated in, or in any way abided in the underlying conduct or sought to intimidate staff, or otherwise obstruct the reporting or publication of the alleged misconduct.”

The eight GOP House members issued their statement after Gov. Matt Bevin called on those implicated in the sexual harassment scandal to resign, and after House Speaker Jeff Hoover responded by accusing the governor of “grandstanding.” Hoover said he was “more resolved than ever to continue my work as Speaker.”

Bevin’s comments came after another GOP state Representative, C. Wesley Morgan of Richmond, had taken to Twitter to call on Hoover to step down.

Also Saturday, leaders of the House GOP caucus said they were calling for an independent investigation of the allegations, and reiterated that the caucus supports Hoover for now.

And a House GOP staffer said in an interview that she was “basically put on paid suspension” after she brought concerns about a “toxic” work environment to Hoover.

Here is the full statement from the eight House Republicans, Robert J. Benvenuti, Joe Fischer, Kim King, Stan Lee, Tim Moore, Phil Moffett, Russell Webber, Addia Wuchner:

We are shocked and angered by the allegations of sexual harassment, none of which have been denied or even disputed. Contrary to what has been reported, the Representatives at issue did not have the “full” support of the entire republican caucus. Immediately upon becoming aware of the allegations published this week, we have worked aggressively to review all information available to us and attempted to gather additional information.

Having done so, we call for the immediate resignation of all members involved in the confidential settlement of allegations of misconduct with legislative staff. We likewise call for the resignation of any house member or LRC staff that participated in, or in any way abided in the underlying conduct or sought to intimidate staff, or otherwise obstruct the reporting or publication of the alleged misconduct.

Additionally, we are calling for complete and public responses to the questions we have been asking since learning of the allegations, which include the following:

1. Whether any House Member, staff, or public official at any level of government knew of the alleged acts of misconduct, when that was known, and the identify of any such individual;

2. Whether any House Member, staff, or public official at any level of government knew that the alleged victims were prepared to make allegations, when that was known, and the identify of any such individual;

3. Whether any House Member, staff, or public official at any level of government engaged in conduct aimed at intimidating or obstructing any victim, witness, or person with knowledge of the allegations and the identify of any such individual;

4. The identities of any individual or business entity that directly or indirectly contributed in cash or in kind to the settlement agreement at issue, including any legal fees or other expenses or costs, and the amount they contributed; and,

5. Whether any House Member, staff, or public official at any level of government used any government resources including personnel, time, or equipment, when such were used, and the extent of such use.

This story was originally published November 4, 2017 at 9:15 PM with the headline "Hoover has ‘full’ support of GOP caucus? Not so fast, says group of GOP caucus members.."