A new ad from the Congressional Leadership Fund hits Democratic congressional candidate Gil Cisneros for sexual harassment allegations levied against him in May by a former Democratic candidate for California Assembly District 55.
The ad, titled "Anything," notes that Cisneros, who is running for congress in California's 39th Congressional District, was accused of sexual harassment earlier this year by Melissa Fazli and says the "rich and powerful think they can get away with anything."
The Cisneros campaign has vehemently denied the accusations since they were made, saying they were "false allegations," but Fazli has stood by her account and opened up about her depression and anxiety that has resulted from Cisneros and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's silence.
Back in April, shortly before Fazli made her account public, the DCCC added Cisneros to its highly competitive "Red to Blue" program, which chooses Democratic candidates it deems will be competitive in a general election.
The CLF calls Cisneros' alleged behavior "wrong" and "disgusting."
"The rich and powerful think they can get away with anything and Gil Cisneros is no different. A Democratic state assembly candidate accused Cisneros of misconduct, saying Cisneros sexually harassed her when he inappropriately invited himself to her hotel room and demanded sex in exchange for supporting her campaign," the ad narrator says. "It’s wrong. It’s disgusting. Gil Cisneros, have you no shame?"
The Cisneros campaign responded Thursday to the ad's release by saying it "includes a patently false allegation of misconduct" and released its own account of the events that occurred on the night of the alleged misconduct.
"The allegation has been discredited by multiple eyewitnesses and an Emmy award-winning Fox News television reporter," a statement from the campaign reads.
Courtney Alexander, the CLF communications director, said the Democratic candidate's alleged behavior is "completely unacceptable behavior for anyone, let alone a candidate for United States Congress."
"Gil Cisneros seems to be the latest rich and powerful man who thinks he can get away with anything," Alexander said. "According to a Democratic State Assembly candidate, Gil Cisneros invited himself to her hotel room and demanded sex in exchange for supporting her campaign. It’s wrong, disgusting, and completely unacceptable behavior for anyone, let alone a candidate for United States Congress."
Cisneros and his wife, Jacki, both serve on the advisory board for Michelle Obama's Reach Higher and Better Make Room education initiatives. The candidate also served on Obama's Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, but he did not receive an endorsement from former President Obama earlier this month. While Obama’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the previous story, they released a statement saying they would "issue a second round of endorsements in advance of Nov. 6."
Cisneros will face Republican opponent Young Kim, a former state legislator, in the November general election.
Update 8/23/2018 5:21 P.M.: This piece was updated with the statement from Gil Cisneros' campaign.