Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland hedged Monday in public comments about a former staff member who has been identified as a participant in a gay sex video shot in a Senate meeting room.
On Friday, the Daily Caller reported on a video that showed two men having sex in a Hart Senate Office building room where the Judiciary Committee has often met.
One of the men in the video was identified on social media and in news reports as Aidan Maese-Czeropski, an aide to Cardin.
The senator’s office said Saturday that Maese-Czeropski was no longer an employee.
Reporters asked Cardin about the situation Monday in a video posted to social media by CNN’s Manu Raju.
“These are personnel issues that I won’t talk about publicly, as to how we handle personnel,” he said.
After being confronted by questions of how access to the room was secured, saying “I don’t know the details,” the senator gave a halting response.
“My knowledge of this is over the weekend, when I learned about it, made sure that he was separated, so that he left Senate employment, and that the appropriate steps were taken from the point of view of our office,” he said.
Asked about the aide’s behavior while working, Cardin started to reply, stopped and then said, “These are personnel issues and I would not be the right person. … I’m not going to get into personnel issues.”
Cardin said he personally had not been contacted by the Capitol Police, which said last week they had opened an investigation into the incident.
Asked about his connection with the former staff member, the senator said, “I know all my staff personally. … I can’t tell you. … I’m not going to get into my relationship with the staffer.”
After a reporter said the video appeared legitimate, Cardin said that would be determined by investigators, adding, “I’m not going to get into specifics because I don’t — that’s not what I know.”
Cardin on the staffer: pic.twitter.com/fstAqdBn2h
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 18, 2023
The Hill reported that the senator also told the media he was “angry” and “disappointed” about the incident.
“It’s a breach of trust. All of the above. It’s a tragic situation and it’s presented a lot of anger and frustration. I’m concerned about our staff and the way that they feel about this and the Senate staff,” Cardin said.
He said he had not spoken to his former staff member but did indicate that the former staff member did not apologize.
CNN reported Saturday that as it asked questions about the incident, Cardin’s office referred the outlet to a statement posted by Maese-Czeropski on LinkedIn.
That statement said, in part, “This has been a difficult time for me, as I have been attacked for who I love to pursue a political agenda. While some of my actions in the past have shown poor judgement, I love my job and would never disrespect my workplace.”
“I will be exploring what legal options are available to me in these matters,” Maese-Czeropski wrote.
