Democratic Rep. Elizabeth Esty (Conn.) found out about her then-chief of staff Tony Baker threatening a former aide's life a full two months before the victim was interviewed in an internal investigation, emails show.
That investigation also lacked objectivity, according to staffers who spoke to the Hartford Courant, since it was led by a former Esty aide who had hired Baker to be the congresswoman's legislative director.
"There was no independence," said one former staffer whom Julie Sweet, the one conducting the probe, interviewed months after Baker made the threats.
Baker left former aide Anna Kain a voicemail in which he threatened to kill her, which Esty said she learned of on May 6, 2016, but it was not until mid-July that Sweet actually began to meet with staffers. Baker, who Kain has accused of other forms of harassment, was not terminated until three months after Esty learned of the threats.
Amid calls for her resignation, Esty announced Monday that she would not seek reelection, but she is still facing criticism for retaining Baker for three months and taking steps to cover up the incident.
"We could have been ahead of the #MeToo movement," a former staffer said. "We could have been the face of it."
In early July of 2016, Kain obtained a protective order against Baker from police in Washington, D.C., and later that month Sweet got around to interviewing staffers. But some staffers had to make a point of getting out of the office with Baker, who was also accused of sexual harassment.
"I used to stay late and then I stopped staying late because I felt really uncomfortable being in the office alone with him," said a former staffer who knew about the protective order. "It's extremely messed up."
Former aides said Esty signed a non-disclosure agreement after removing Baker that also applied to her staffers, and he also received a $5,000 severance package. Esty told staffers at an August meeting that Baker was going to work for Hillary Clinton's campaign in Ohio, but aides thought she was not forthcoming about the whole matter.
"I was just mad," an aide said. "She talked to us in August 2016 and basically lied to our faces."
Baker actually went to Ohio to work for Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit that advocates gun control.
Esty even apologized to the staffers for how slowly the internal investigation went, according to a former staffer, but said it was best not to talk about it.
"She apologized for how long it took," the source told the Courant. "She said, 'I think it's best if we all don't talk about this.' She's like, 'I think it's best for Anna's sake if we don't talk about this.'"
A female colleague said it was painful to work with Baker after the threats became known.
"I just remember crying," the colleague said. "To know that I sat next to this man for so many months."
Esty on Monday requested that the House Ethics Committee investigate whether she "violated any law, rule, regulation, or other standard of conduct."
Baker's friend and spokesman Andrew Ricci downplayed Esty's involvement in Baker getting a job at Sandy Hook Promise, but he did say she had "talking points" to which Baker agreed. Baker was able to negotiate the talking points in his departure, and Esty agreed to deliver them if a potential employer called her.
The Courant said Baker declined to release those talking points.