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  • Vance McAllister Urged To Resign Over ‘Smoochgate’ Scandal

    Louisiana Rep. Vance McAllister promised to stay in office even after calls for his resignation were made over a leaked video of him kissing the wife of a friend.

    Gov. Bobby Jindal, the state’s Republican governor, urged McAllister to resign, after the representative said he wanted to work things out with his family in private. Jindal further said McAllister’s actions are an embarrassment.

    Roger Villere, state GOP chairman, also called for his resignation and said that McAllister’s hypocrisy can only be solved by an immediate resignation. However, the congressman still refuses to budge from his seat.

    Jennifer Dunagin, spokeswoman for McAllister said that there are no plans to resign yet.

    A few are less aggressive towards the congressman. House speaker John Boehner admitted to speaking with McAllister and said that the congressman has decisions to make. According to him, all members must uphold the highest ethical standards, and that McAllister is no different.

    Friends and backers have said that they expect him to fight for his job and his family.

    A weekly newspaper released the video of him kissing Melissa Peacock, a member of the congressional payroll. She submitted her resignation on Monday.

    No one knows how the video made its way to the Ouachita Citizen, but McAllister’s office denied rumors that he will conduct an FBI investigation into finding out who leaked it. Instead, a statement from his office said that he is focused on regaining the trust he has lost.

    According to The Washington Post, odds say that the chances of him still being in office next year is not great. Based on an analysis of 38 scandals since 1974, only 39% of government officials embroiled in sex scandals were re-elected.

    Politically, McAllister was considered an unknown when he ran for office in 2013. Many believe that his strong showing in the race was due to the endorsement of Phil Robertson, who stars in the Duck Dynasty TV series.

    McAllister caught smooching another man’s wife

    Image via YouTube

  • Vance McAllister Fires Aide After Kiss Video Surfaces

    Louisiana Congressman Vance McAllister has taken a staffer off the payroll this week after a video of the two of them kissing surfaced online.

    The video was leaked on Monday and shows McAllister hugging his district scheduler, Melissa Anne Hixon Peacock, as the two of them kiss. Both are married, and although McAllister has apologized publicly to his family, he says he will not resign.

    “I have fallen short as a husband and a father, and I feel more ashamed than you can imagine,” said McAllister. “I’ve asked them for forgiveness, and I’m asking forgiveness from my constituents who elected me to serve them.”

    McAllister says the transgression was his first outside of his marriage and that he confessed to his wife before the video was leaked online; the surveillance footage is dated from December. He also says he won’t back away from a race in the fall as long as he has supporters.

    “If the people are willing to forgive me I’ll keep fighting. If there’s somebody more perfect than me who they support, it’s their will,” he said.

    Peacock has not released a statement, but was reportedly taken off McAllister’s payroll in the last 24 hours.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons