Head of congressional office tasked with investigating sexual misconduct accused of assaulting multiple women

The chief counsel for the Office of Congressional Ethics -- the agency tasked with investigating claims against congresspeople accused of sexual misconduct -- has been accused of physically and verbally assaulting women.

As Foreign Policy reports, OCE staff director and chief counsel Omar Ashmawy is the subject of a lawsuit alleging he screamed at and physically attacked three women at a bar on Valentine's Day 2015, including the bartender.

As FP notes, Ashmawy's name was listed on documents pertaining to sexual misconduct investigation of Rep. John Conyers (D-MI).

Along with the assault allegations, the federal lawsuit against Ashmawy also accuses him of "threatening to use his position as staff director and chief counsel of the Office of Congressional Ethics to induce a criminal proceeding to be brought against Plaintiff and/or others."

In a statement to FP, Ashmawy denied the allegations and said he is the victim.

"To be clear, I did not harass anyone that evening, physically or verbally,” he wrote. “To the contrary, I was the victim of a wholly unprovoked assault for which those responsible were investigated, arrested and charged. Any allegation to the contrary is unequivocally false."