Aide to Chuck Grassley quits over harassment allegation

WASHINGTON - A communications adviser to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, during the Supreme Court confirmation fight has abruptly resigned after an accusation of sexual harassment - an allegation he denies.

Garrett Ventry submitted his resignation Friday night, he said in a brief phone interview Saturday morning. He said he denies the allegation but stepped down 'in order to not be a distraction” as Senate Republicans continue to work to get Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh confirmed.

'Garrett was one of several temporary staff brought on to assist in the committee's consideration of the Supreme Court nomination, a team that has done outstanding work,” a committee spokesman said Saturday. 'While he strongly denies allegations of wrongdoing, he decided to resign to avoid causing any distraction from the work of the committee.”

The resignation is another development in the chaos that has engulfed Kavanaugh's confirmation fight. Christine Blasey Ford, a psychology professor in California, accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers in an interview with The Washington Post.

Kavanaugh has denied the allegation.

NBC News reported Saturday that it had been investigating Ventry's employment history, including his tenure in the office of North Carolina House Majority Leader John Bell in 2017. According to the network, Ventry was let go from the office after a female GOP staffer in the North Carolina General Assembly accused him of sexual harassment. He also had been accused of embellishing his resume.

Bell told NBC News that 'Mr. Ventry did work in my office and he's no longer there, he moved on.” Bell did not immediately respond to requests by the Post for comment Saturday.

Before coming on temporarily to Grassley's staff, Ventry worked at CRC Public Relations, a prominent public relations firm for conservative causes in Alexandria, Va., that represents influential legal groups on the right such as the Federalist Society and the Judicial Crisis Network.

The firm said in a statement that Ventry had been on a leave of absence and as of Saturday he had resigned. The company also said it was not aware of the allegations against Ventry.