Trump official accused of canceling colleague's hotel room so she’d have to stay with him
A White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security was investigated for accusations he harassed a lower-ranking co-worker by canceling her hotel room and having them share a room together, according to a report.
Paul Ingrassia, who previously wrote for National Review, Human Events, and The Daily Caller, and a group of DHS workers were at a Ritz-Carlton hotel in Orlando in July, Politico reported Thursday night. When the group went up to the front desk, a lower-ranking female colleague — also a Trump appointee — learned she didn't have a room and would have to share with Ingrassia.
"Ingrassia then informed her that she would be staying with him, according to five administration officials familiar with the episode. Eventually the woman discovered that Ingrassia had arranged ahead of time to have her hotel room canceled so she would have to stay with him, three of those officials said," according to the report.
The woman initially balked at the arrangement but relented so as not to cause a stir. The two, who knew each other before the DHS stint, stayed in the same room and slept in separate beds.
"The fallout from the incident has been the talk of the upper echelons of DHS ever since," the report added.
A human resources complaint was eventually filed against Ingrassia, but was retracted days later, as the female colleague feared retaliation, according to the report.
Ingrassia's attorney Edward Andrew Paltzik denied the accusations, telling the outlet in a statement: "Mr. Ingrassia has never harassed any coworkers — female or otherwise, sexually or otherwise — in connection with any employment."
Additionally, the woman involved told Politico she never felt uncomfortable and never filed a complaint.
“A colleague misjudged the situation and made claims of alleged harassment that are not true,” the woman said. “There was no wrongdoing.”