U.S. Capitol Police is reportedly investigating the shocking videotape of two men having sex in public in what appears the Senate large hearing room in the Hart Senate Office Building. The room is familiar to many citizens from Supreme Court confirmations to impeachment proceedings. Indeed, I have testified repeatedly in the room and argued much of the Porteous impeachment case in that space. First reported on a conservative site, the video of two men having sex led to reports that one of the individuals was a staffer for Sen. Ben Cardin (D., Md.). Update: Cardin aide Aidan Maese-Czeropski, 24, has now been reportedly fired.
The video shows one of the men hunched over the dais at the center of the seating for senators in Senate room Hart 216.
The video was reportedly shared on the Internet on gay sites.
Obviously, the videotape will result in the termination of any staffers involved. However, the question is any possible criminal charge. We have previously discussed porn videos shot in churches or other locations. Such porn shoots in church have also raised calls for prosecutions in other countries.
Staffers have access into such rooms, but the question is whether this unofficial use would constitute trespass. It also uses an official area for personal purposes, though it is not clear if there were any commercial benefits garnered from the video found on various sites.
One obvious criminal provision under the D.C. code is Section 22-1312 for lewd, indecent, or obscene acts:
“It is unlawful for a person, in public, to make an obscene or indecent exposure of his or her genitalia or anus, to engage in masturbation, or to engage in a sexual act as defined in § 22-3001(8). It is unlawful for a person to make an obscene or indecent sexual proposal to a minor. A person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, imprisoned for not more than 90 days, or both.”
The question is whether this is “in public” in a locked committee room — any more than sex in a congressional office after hours would be viewed as “in public.”
There are also provisions concerning the misuse or damaging of government property such as Section 1361, which protects “any property” of the United States from willful depredation or attempted depredation. “Depredation” is defined as the act of plundering, robbing, pillaging or laying waste. However, mere possession of such property is not viewed as depredation. United States v. Jenkins, 554 F.2d 783, 786 (6th Cir. 1977).
There is also 18 U.S.C. 641 on the misuse of public money, property, or records:
“Whoever embezzles, steals, purloins, or knowingly converts to his use or the use of another, or without authority, sells, conveys or disposes of any record, voucher, money, or thing of value of the United States or of any department or agency thereof, or any property made or being made under contract for the United States or any department or agency thereof; or
Whoever receives, conceals, or retains the same with intent to convert it to his use or gain, knowing it to have been embezzled, stolen, purloined or converted—
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; but if the value of such property in the aggregate, combining amounts from all the counts for which the defendant is convicted in a single case, does not exceed the sum of $1,000, he shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.”
The Capitol police could argue that this constitutes purloining or using government property for personal purposes.
The key factor is the fact that this videotape was made with the apparent intent to publish or to distribute. Sex in congressional offices — by both members and staff — have long been known to occur on Capitol Hill. Yet, this was a public hearing room, albeit closed at the time, and a tape made for what appears public viewing.
That brings us back to trespass. The question may be whether this was access under legal authority for a staffer. The Capitol police can argue that access to a staff position does not mean a license for entry for any purpose. Under 18 U.S.C. 1752, trespass covers anyone who “knowingly enters or remains in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do so.”
Does a staffer have legal authority to enter any hearing room for any purpose? That could be a defense raised by counsel, but it would seem likely that any access is premised on an official function.
The pressure on the Capitol police is likely to be considerable in the coming days. Only recently, House members Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Jamie Raskin claimed that house rules were broken by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene showing Hunter Biden and a woman in a revealing picture, though he was purportedly wearing a swimsuit. Raskin objected that it would constitute “pornographic exhibits that might not be suitable for children watching.”
While this was not a public hearing, those objections now seem almost puritanical in light what just occurred over in the Senate hearing room.
Maese-Czeropski was named in an earlier incident in Congress when he was accused of confronting Ohio Republican Congressman Max Miller over his support for Israel. He has categorically denied that accusation.
He is listed working of Cardin since October 2021, and previously worked as a field organizer for the Democratic Party in Virginia. He also lists work as a climate researcher for charity Friends of the Earth.
What is likely to get the most attention, however, is that he also reportedly appeared in a campaign ad in 2020 with President Biden with the words “thank you for teaching.”
Maese-Czeropski went on to social media to issue a statement of regret but to say that “[t]his has been a difficult time for me, as I have been attacked for who I love to pursue a political agenda.” When one films a porn scene in a Senate hearing room, the resulting anger is likely focused on the conduct rather than the identity of the parties. A heterosexual tryst would produce the same obvious objections.
The spin on the controversy is similar to the effort of Susanna Gibson in a Politico article. In a bizarre piece on Gibson’s scandal involving sex acts on the Internet, Politico was mocked for leaving out key details as Gibson claimed that she was shocked that other people saw the intimate videos with her husband.
Gibson and her husband posted more than a dozen videos that were archived on a site called Chaturbate in September 2022 shortly before she announced her candidacy for office. Viewers were told that they could pay for her to perform specific sex acts “for tips.” While the scandal was revealed by the Washington Post, the article suggests it was skullduggery by conservatives and that her privacy was shattered.
Gibson has made dubious threats to sue over the disclosures of the videos and even alleged that the disclosures constituted a sex crime. She attempted to portray the controversy as an attack on all women. It seemed to work. Gibson came close to winning the recent election despite the scandal as the Democratic candidate for the state legislature.
In the controversy involving Maese-Czeropski, the video was posted to a private group for gay men and the owner identified himself as a “twink” engaging in sex acts with his older “bear” partner. The group posting does not suggest a private intimate video shared between a couple.
The site does not appear to generate revenue, which could have bearing on potential charges discussed above. Using the congressional space for commercial purposes can factor into possible charges.
The resignation of Maese-Czeropski will not necessarily end any Capitol Police investigation. Given the possibilities of charges, further public statements are unwise until the former aide speaks with counsel.
It’s a fallen world…plain and simple.
Is it lewd behaviour in public? When you post it in the Internet, id denitely is, even if it was their bedroom.
Two idiots decide it is a great idea to video themselves having sex in a public space.
That it was closed at the time is irrelevant.
That they were gay was irrelevant.
Then these two idiots decide it is a even greater idea to post said video to some web site, fully expecting it to never see the light of day in the general pubic or that no one on the web site would ever leak it out to others like the whole world.
Now, rather than own up to it as a not so great idea but a really bad one and obvious poor decision making skills on their part, it is all part of a grand conspiracy against them being gay, again, irrelevant and a political agenda.
Dumb.
— THIS IS SO VERY INDECENT , AS IT DEFILES NOT ONLY AMERICA , AND, HER INSTITUTIONS, BUILDINGS, STAFF , AND, PURITANICAL FOUNDATIONS , BUT, ALSO, ALL OF AMERICA’S CHRISTIAN , AND, GOVERNMENTAL FOUNDATIONS, PRINCIPLES , AND, MORAS ; TOTALLY UNBEARABLE, DISGUSTING, AND INTOLERABLE TO ALL AMERICANS … !!
So the other participant was an intern from Germany. If nothing else, I’d say we know who was on top. LOL
Baltimore Sun has yet to report it.
What about the German intern in the video who is recognized as a foreign agent? How many foreign agents have been in that room, after hours, & what about security?
This is truly the only real probe that has taken place in the U.S. Senate in the past 20 years. In addition the only U.S. Senate probe with a final conclusion that took only minutes rather than months!
^^ That will certainly go down in the anals of history ^^
This videotape is a race to the bottom.
I hope that Sen Schumer will order that the entire room be thoroughly sanitized. This act is appalling.
time to end federal aid for AIDS/HIV because apparently the MAJOR SPREADERS…don’t CARE!
Congress does have, and has never had, any constitutional authority to tax for or regulate AIDS/HIV.
Congress has the enumerated power to tax for ONLY debt, defense, and general Welfare (all or the whole – not specific, individual, particular Welfare, charity or favoritism).
Congress has the enumerated power to regulate ONLY the value of money, the “flow” of commerce among nations, states and Indian tribes, and land and naval Forces, per Article 1, Section 8.
The singular American failure has been and remains the Supreme Court that has failed to “support” the literal manifest tenor of the Constitution, per the sworn oaths of Justices.
George does not have, and has never had, any brains or honesty. BTW, I enjoyed the Freudian slip in your first sentence (admittedly, all I bothered to read in your comment).
Aninny fails to appear in support of his nonsense and fails again to refute the U.S. Constitution, to write anything rational and coherent, or to posit a prevailing view.
A very hinged reply…
it is OBVIOUS Democrats wish to Debase the USA!
They are disgusting Criminal PEOPLE….and thousands of Criminal Fascists Democrats from Government SHOULD BE JAILED for their EVER WORSENING CRIMES
The Zhearing Room romp was just a filming for a LGBT+++ public service announcement. This community every right to express themselves in ways that are in keeping within their community norms. This is a free speech issue.
Public homosexual activity is now a ‘public service’?? Is that a continuation of the June lgbtq ‘celebration of ‘gay pride’? (Note the liberal propaganda use of the words “gay” and “pride”.)
You forgot the /s lol
Whats the big deal? Democratic boys screwing in the Capitol building, bearing their newly minted breast on the Whitehouse lawn and stealing women’s luggage at the airport is just part of the Democrat way. What do they say. You better damn well get used to it or else we’ll be screwing you without your permission more often as the FBI holds you down.
This will be investigated and all parties involved will be dealt with as thoroughly as the cocaine scandal in the White House. Oh wait….nevermind.
How do we know it was for “unofficial use”. He worked for a Democrat, after all. Progressivism is all about pushing back boundaries!