Friday, Sep 5, 2008
The former chief of staff to Sen. Max Baucus claims he sexually harassed her, then fired her, but the senator tells an entirely different story -- that she was relentlessly abusing his staff.
Sep 18, 1999 | Just when you thought that the year of "that woman" could finally be relegated to the history books, the corridors of the Capitol are once again buzzing with the torrid details of yet another embarrassing sex scandal.
OK, so maybe they're not quite so torrid this time. There's no thong underwear or wet kiss elevator assaults; no pubic hair on Coke cans or stained navy blue dresses. Heck, there aren't even any allegations of inappropriate touching!
So even that dirtiest of dirty old men, Ken Starr, would be hard-pressed to come up with a steamy narrative for this one; nevertheless, the story isn't without its intriguing details. What it may lack in sex, the latest story makes up for with mystery. The Capitol Police have a cameo role, there are some allegedly revealing e-mails, as well as a rendezvous at the Four Seasons hotel and some weird stalking allegations.
And it wouldn't be a Washington sex scandal without an elaborate smear campaign to discredit the accuser, bizarre legal contortions on all sides and an ample helping of partisan politics. This one delivers on all those counts, too.
Last week, the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call broke the news that mild-mannered Montana Sen. Max Baucus, a Democrat, had fired his chief of staff, Christine Niedermeier, for what he described as management differences and she described as direct retaliation for refusing months of sexual advances.
At its core, it seemed like a classic "he said, she said" kind of tale.
Baucus, 57, married to his second wife, says he fired Niedermeier because her tyrannical behavior toward staff was causing an office-wide revolt. Niedermeier, 47 and single, says she was terminated because she rejected his advances and because he feared she was going to file a sexual harassment suit.
Baucus flatly denies the charges. "Let me state unequivocally that I have never, under any circumstances, sexually harassed Christine Niedermeier," Baucus said in a written statement. (He later repeated his denial to the Associated Press.)
In his statement, the senator added that 36 of his staff members had signed a grievance petition against Niedermeier. He said his aides started circulating the petition because they found her abusive management style intolerable. He further claimed that a number of his long-term aides went so far as to tender their resignations due to her abusive ways.
One of those former staffers, Jim Messina, now a chief of staff in another congressional office, supported Baucus' version. Messina told Salon News that he left the Baucus operation in May because of Niedermeier's abuse.
"Working for Neidermeier was a nightmare," Messina said. It was just constant abuse, constant yelling ... she wouldn't let you [do your job] ... It was tough because we all love Max so much because he's such a good guy."
Niedermeier came forward with her version three weeks after her firing when Roll Call called to ask her what had happened. She says the 36-signature petition was thrown together as a cover story only after she had confronted Buacus about his behavior. Furthermore, she says she has been prevented from reclaiming the evidence that could prove her case.
Niedermeier claims the abuse started a month after she took the chief of staff position with Baucus in May 1998. She put up with it, she says, because she liked her job and was afraid she'd be fired if she told him to knock it off.
Nevertheless, on May 3, 1999, she accompanied Baucus to an official White House dinner for Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. By late July, however, Niedermeier says, she had tired of Buacus' ongoing harassment.
Niedermeier is quick to acknowledge, though, that none of Baucus' alleged come-ons were Clintonesque in nature. He never, for instance, dropped trou and "asked her to kiss it." His style, she attests, was much more subtle, but annoying nonetheless.
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