Capitol Police have announced that a since-fired Senate staffer will not face criminal charges stemming from a lewd tape that was filmed in the Senate Hart Offices.
According to reporting by The Daily Caller, the staffer, Aidan Maese-Czeropski, was fired shortly after the tape was discovered on a group chat for homosexual men. Maese-Czeropski worked for U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD). The video depicted sex acts between the staffer and another man on the desks of U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chris Coons (D-DE).
“After consulting with federal and local prosecutors, as well as doing a comprehensive investigation and review of possible charges, it was determined that — despite a likely violation of Congressional policy — there is currently no evidence that a crime was committed,” Capitol Police said Thursday. “Although the hearing room was not open to the public at the time, the Congressional staffer involved had access to the room. The two people of interest were not cooperative, nor were the elements of any of the possible crimes met.”
Observers voiced disappointment on social media following the announcement that no criminal charges would be sought.
Social media user @Some__G commented that committing sex acts on the desks of Senators is fine, yet just sitting behind one of the desks is a major crime for an ordinary American.
The observation references Richard Barnett, who participated in the January 6 events and was photographed with his feet propped on Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) desk. Barnett was sentenced to more than four years in prison for his actions.
Meanwhile, Ret. Foreign Service Officer Brian Bassett remarked that he doubted a Republican staffer would get the same treatment as Maese-Czeropski.
However, an earlier incident involving lewd videos taken in the U.S. House of Representatives was discovered in 2022 that involved at least one staffer employed by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), as reported by The Dallas Express.
“As soon as the office was alerted, we immediately contacted the appropriate House entities to conduct an independent investigation,” a spokesperson for Newhouse said. After “no conclusive evidence was found,” the staffer left his position later that year on good terms.
Attorney Jonathan Turley said in December that charges were unlikely to be filed against the Senate staffer because the video was posted to a website that does not generate revenue, a key component distinguishing private videos from pornography.
