In her last speech before the US Congress, outgoing Democrat Ms. Katie Hill spoke out sharply with a - mostly male - part of society, and also attacked the incumbent president with strong words.
"I go for a misogynistic culture where my nude photos are looked at by Schadenfreunde, where my sexuality is exploited and my abusive ex allows me to continue to abuse myself - while the whole country is watching," says Hill.
The politician from California had resigned after the revelation of an affair with a campaigner. In a statement, the 32-year-old said that her resignation was the best for her community and the country. Most recently, the allegations against them were investigated by a House Ethics Committee.
"I have the darkest time imaginable and I shed more tears than I ever thought possible," Hill continued on Thursday (local time).
She had the affair with a younger employee admitted. The right-wing populist website Redstate and a British gossip had published nude pictures of Hill and text messages. The Congressional Committee is also investigating allegations that Hill has had another affair with an older employee. She denies that.
In her farewell speech, Hill also picked up these personal details: "The mistakes I've made and the people I hurt have been haunting me to the end of my days, and I've come to terms with that."
Hill had accused her still husband, the artist Kenny Heslep, of having passed on the tricky pictures. Her husband had abused her, so she had looked elsewhere for attention, she said. Heslep, however, said he had supported his wife as a housekeeper, who then dropped him when she could move into the House of Representatives. He also denies having spread the pictures.
Other women should not be deterred
Most recently, Hill accused President Donald Trump and the hypocrisy of the company. A large part of this society, which feared and hated powerful women, had teamed up to oust a young woman from power, she declared: "At the same time, a man occupies the most powerful post in this country, which boasts of its sexual assaults and against Dozens of women have put forward credible allegations of sexual violence. "
Therefore, she says, it is a source of pride for her to vote as the last act of progress in preparations for impeachment of the President. No woman should be deterred by her story from assuming responsibility, especially in a political office.