Why is this man smiling?
Daylife/Reuters Pictures used by permission
Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the powerful U.S. Senate Finance Committee, nominated his girlfriend to serve as a federal prosecutor earlier this year, the Democratic lawmaker’s spokesman said on Saturday.
Baucus recommended Melodee Hanes, who served on his staff at the time and has an ongoing romantic relationship with the divorced senator, and two others for the post of U.S. attorney in his home state of Montana, Baucus spokesman Tyler Matsdorf said.
Matsdorf said Baucus chose to nominate Hanes for the job because of her “extensive background as a prosecutor and extensive legal experience.” Hanes worked for Baucus from 2003 until earlier this year, and now holds a post at the U.S. Justice Department.
“While her personal relationship with Senator Baucus should in no way be either a qualifier or a disqualifier for the position, during the nomination process and after much reflection, both Senator Baucus and Ms. Hanes agreed that she should withdraw her name from consideration because they wanted to live together in Washington, D.C.,” Matsdorf said…
“Senator Baucus is currently in a mature and happy relationship with Melodee Hanes. They are both divorced, and in no way was their relationship the cause of their respective divorces,” Matsdorf said.
A few cheeky Congressional Republicans want an ethics investigation. As long as it only checks up on Democrats.
BTW, Baucus’ wife didn’t divorce him until just this spring.