'Substantial' evidence found Republican had affair with staffer who died by suicide

The Office of Congressional Conduct has already found "substantial reason to believe" that Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) engaged in sexual relations with a now-deceased subordinate, Politico reported on Wednesday.

This comes just hours after reports that the powerful House Ethics Committee, whose findings frequently bring down congressional careers, had opened an investigation into Gonzales, who represents a sprawling district that includes most of the Texas border with Mexico.

The former staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, headed up his branch office in Uvalde. She died in a gruesome suicide last year, and people close to her have alleged that her mental health began to decline around the time of the relationship. Text messages also appear to indicate she was at least somewhat uncomfortable with the pressure Gonzales was putting on her.

"The OCC investigation found 'a substantial reason to believe that Rep. Gonzales engaged in a sexual relationship with an employee of the House of Representatives who was working under his supervision,' according to the report," Politico said. "In one exchange with a fellow staffer, known as Witness 1, Santos-Aviles texted: 'I had an affair with our boss and I’m fine. You will be fine.' The staffer, in an interview with the OCC, described personal conversations with Santos-Aviles wherein she described text messages with Gonzales that 'were sexual in nature, that were romantic in nature.'"

Gonzales has denied the affair, or any wrongdoing, and has said of the Ethics Committee probe that “I welcome the opportunity to present all the facts to the committee."

This Tuesday, Gonzales was forced into a primary runoff against Brandon Herrera, a gun rights activist who has called for the return of smoking on airplanes and made offensive remarks about the Holocaust.