Republican congresswoman Priscilla Giddings, of Idaho, was formally censured and stripped of committee assignments by the state legislature on Monday for posting the personal information of a 19-year-old student intern on social media after the teenager accused another GOP lawmaker of rape, local station KMTV reports.
Giddings, who is seeking the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor, reportedly shared the intern’s personal details on Facebook and in a newsletter with her supporters. The inter had accused Rep. Von Ehlinger (R) of raping her.
Ehlinger, 39, who resigned in April, has denied any wrongdoing. He pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges this month and is scheduled to stand trial in April 2022.
Sharing a person’s information without their consent, a practice called doxxing, has often been used against women speaking out about sexual abuse.
During a debate to censure the lawmaker in the Idaho Statehouse on Monday, Giddings said she had not done anything wrong. “I would not have done anything differently,” she said, according to the station.
A lawyer for the intern, Erika Birch, said her client “watched the debate and was hurt by Giddings’ comments and by the other House members who voted against censure, in part because the internship was an opportunity for her to learn from those very people.”
Birch described Giddings as “kicking somebody while they’re down and then refusing to accept any accountability for her action.”
