A legislative aide for Senator Ben Cardin has been fired after a purported video of him performing gay sex in a Congressional hearing room went viral on social media.
The video emerged on Friday and showed two men having anal sex inside the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room in the Hart Senate Office Building.
The news soon spread like wildfire, following which Cardin's aide, Aidan Maese-Czeropski, was fired from his job, per a report in Politico. However, no details or reasons were given for firing the aide.
"Aidan Maese-Czeropski is no longer employed by the U.S. Senate. We will have no further comment on this personnel matter," read the statement by Cardin's office.
Maese-Czeropski has not addressed the issue directly, but in a statement posted on LinkedIn, he threatened to take legal action in the matter.
"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," Maese-Czeropski said in a statement.
Any attempts to characterise my actions otherwise are fabricated, and I will be exploring what legal options are available to me in these matters," he added. The other person in the video has not been identified yet.
It is being reported that the video first made it to private group chats and subsequently made it to news outlets.
Meanwhile, Capitol Police, in a statement, said that they are looking into the matter.
The incident has sparked social media outrage in the United States since the room where the alleged sexual act was performed has been witness to 9/11 attacks hearings and former FBI director James Comey's testimony on Donald Trump.
"Why isn't there reporting on how the two individuals gained access? Were there arrests? Where are the reports on the incident? Why weren't both identified?--Cardin staffer linked to sex tape leaves Senate," commented a Twitter user.
"First, there was Cocaine found in the White House, now we find out that Senate Staffers are having DISGUSTING GAY SEX escapades in the (senate hearing room)," said another.
The user was referring to an incident wherein a small bag containing roughly a gram of white, powdery substance was found in a locker in the White House last month. The investigating authorities were unable to find the culprit due to "lack of physical evidence". However, it was later confirmed that the bag had cocaine.
"Senator Cardin compares January 6th to 9-11 and Pearl Harbor. Lectures how the US Capitol is sacred space. So sacred his aid just filmed gay butt sex inside chambers there," wrote another.
Maese-Czeropski had become a legislative aide to Cardin in November 2023. He had been working with Cardin's office since 2021. He used to work as a fellow at the climate group Friends of the Earth before joining Cardin's office.
