This just in: Don’t come for Rep. Brian Sims unless he calls for you.
The 38-year-old ex-football-stud-turned-hunky-Democratic-lawmaker is not having accusations that misused campaign funds, misreported campaign contributions, and collected over $50,000 in dodgy speaking fees.
“No entity that has brought me in for a lecture has ever sought any vote or favor from my office,” Sims told Metro in a very strongly-worded email. “If you actually take a minute to look at my speaking engagements over the last four years, you’ll see that they have focused on institutions of higher learning both in Pennsylvania and across the country.”
Related: PHOTOS: Gay State Rep. Brian Sims Posts Deliciously Beefy TBT, But He Hasn’t Lost The Goods
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Sims said that the majority of the speeches he has given since taking office in 2012 have been about his experiences as an openly gay football player in high school, becoming a captain of the football team at Bloomsburg University, his experience as a civil rights attorney, and his activism for LGBTQ causes.
He added that it’s “nothing short of ridiculous” for anyone to suggest that “students of these institutions are somehow ‘buying access’ to me or the Pennsylvania legislature.”
Snap.
The accusations came from a bombshell report by City & State Pennsylvania, which implied Sims had violated the state Ethics Act, which states “state lawmakers are banned from collecting speaking fees or other honoraria,” when he collected a total of $53,000 in speaking fees from a number of higher education institutes.
But according to Pennsylvania Ethics Commission executive director Rob Caruso, there are exceptions to the rule.
Related: Brian Sims Slams Trump/Pence’s Anti-LGBTQ Nonsense In Epic Takedown
“A public official or public employee could accept an honorarium if the payment was for or the request to appear is in relation to the public official or employee’s occupation or profession and not related to their elected or public office,” Caruso said, adding that most requests are handled on “case-by-case basis.”
And according to Sims’ campaign, they followed all protocol. And then some.
“In an abundance of ethical caution, Rep. Sims secured approval from the Counsel of the House Democratic Caucus before continuing his speaking engagements,” the campaign said in a statement, adding that Sims even double-checked with party lawyers to make sure he was allowed to accept payment for his speeches.
The campaign went on to call the whole inquiry “a shame.”
“This inquiry is simply another ‘click-bait’ attempt to smear a legislator who has the standing to use his experience to bring attention to national issues,” it said.
Related: Out Representative Brian Sims Is Our New Favorite Disney Princess
Alistair Wiseman
Does he also have a pocketful of cough drops, dodged enemy sniper fire in Bosnia and let four Americans die in Benghazi?
Evji108
@Alistair Wiseman: No, he isn’t like you.
aequalitasTN
@Alistair Wiseman: You do realize that the Secretary of State has no command authority over the military, right? So, even if she had wanted to do so, she could not have ordered AFRICOM or the 6th Fleet to respond and evacuate the consulate, despite the additional fact that General Ham and Admiral Harris stood ready to assist and wanted to do so (why do you think they were both relieved of command either during or shortly after the incident)! Unfortunately, their orders come either from SECDEF or the CIC personally. True, she may have been able to close the consulate earlier, but that is clearly moot seeing as how no one knew exactly what was going to transpire prior to the consulate being beseiged!
So, I ask you then, what was Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, supposed to do to save US diplomats and marines? Here’s a thought, did you ever think she may have wanted to, but was instead overrulled? Frankly, I believe that had Clinton been the CIC or SECDEF during Benghazi, things would have turned out differently.
So how about assigning credit where credit is due! If you need help posting a valid argument on the Benghazi front, please refer to the post incident congressional dog and pony show (i.e. – hearings) and then post it!
Alistair Wiseman
@aequalitasTN:
“So, I ask you then, what was Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, supposed to do to save US diplomats and marines?”
How about doing her job and honoring the repeated requests for additional security?
The left-of-center Politifact even admits that Hillary’s State Department not only failed to honor additional requests for additional security, but actually reduced the security at the U.S. compound.
http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2014/may/19/ron-johnson/hillary-clintons-state-department-reduced-security/
“I take responsibility,” Clinton told CNN in an interview. “I’m in charge of the State Department’s 60,000-plus people all over the world, 275 posts.” Hillary was responsible for the diplomats’ security and she failed.
But in true Clinton lying fashion, she was able to tell all four families that the Benghazi attack was part of protests about a video mocking Islam.
It’s always nice when your dead family member is feet away and the Secretary of State lies to your face about how they ended up in a coffin.
SFHandyman
@Alistair Wiseman: How many people died because of Colin Powell’s lies? How about GWB and Cheney’s lies? Hundreds of thousands if you count the innocent civilians caught up in the middle east that they totally destabilized with their lies. And thousands of American Military. My Brother in Law was killed in Iraq. My sister was an Army widow with three young children.
Powell, Cheney and Bush. Their lies resulted in the death and injury of thousands of men, women, and children. Thousands of kids are growing up without their Mom or their Dad because of their lies.
Mo Bro
Keep spinning, Brian, keep spinning.
Funny how when a Republican violates ethics it’s grounds for execution, but when a Democrat does it no one had better dare question their motives, else you’re automatically deemed a r@cist and homophobe.
aequalitasTN
@Alistair Wiseman: If the Secretary of State was willing to take public responsibility, what does that tell you? Surely (I assume) being the good little Republican you are, you can figure it out, if you think back to the Reagan Administration — target your thoughts to 86-87.
But, even if that is not the case, never in the history of the US State Department, was there more of a push for international LGBT advancement and greater visibility and rights for those LGBT individuals serving in the state department.
Further, I will note that one disaster in an 8 year administration is a great record, as opposed to the 8 years worth of one disaster after another, one lie after another, and the erosion of one right after another in the Bush Administration.
Again, no command authority over the military, so someone would still have had to approve that security increase.
ErikO
Brian Sims is your typical politician who at the end of the day only cares about himself, his political career, and is a total narcissist.
[email protected]
Yes he is. “Obliterated”???? Its been 9 months and the investigation into his ethics is ongoing. As a constituent of Sims. – relying on credible community members testimony – his “coming out speaking fees” involved him being a self-loathing closet case who chastised gays in college. #phillydoesntdophony #berealkendoll