DV Journal

(This article first appeared in Broad + Liberty)

Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) is now claiming that after his Secretary of Legislative Affairs had been accused by a subordinate of sexual misconduct and harassment in the workplace in 2023, he did not find out about either the accusations or the resulting investigation until “months after” the events.

The new revelation, stemming from a statement made by Shapiro’s spokesperson to the New York Times, raises a fresh set of questions, especially given that the governor met with a number of female state senators soon after news of the scandal broke to reassure them that his office took workplace sexual harassment seriously.

Two Republican state senators reacted to the new line of defense with astonishment, essentially saying the argument was hard if not impossible to believe. Meanwhile, a request for comment was not returned from numerous female Democratic senators who had expressed concern with Shapiro’s office had handled the issue.

The original matter dates back to the earliest weeks of the Shapiro administration — nearly all of February and the first week of March 2023.

At that time, a young woman went to work in the Governor’s Office of Legislative Affairs, headed up by Shapiro’s long-time ally, Mike Vereb, a Republican. Shapiro’s administration was just being formed, so new offices were coming together, new working relationships were being formed.

But on March 7, the woman abruptly resigned. She later wrote a highly detailed, eleven-page “interview statement” in which she alleged Vereb had initially been controlling and possessive, but those behaviors later became more aggressive. At one point, the accuser says Vereb made sexually explicit remarks about the two of them entering a physical relationship. The “interview statement” was signed on March 31, 2023, and then formed the basis of a complaint to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, which adjudicates such matters.

Broad + Liberty was first to break news of allegations against Vereb on Sept. 28, 2023, one day after Vereb resigned. “Given the 200+ days between the [accuser’s] departure in March and Vereb’s resignation on Wednesday, the affair raises questions for the first-term governor about the degree to which Gov. Shapiro believed Vereb over the accuser and his willingness to risk keeping a potential liability on staff,” Broad + Liberty wrote at the time.

Now Shapiro is claiming he was unaware.

The key passage from the Times article authored by Sharon LaFraniere, says: “In a statement on Friday night, Manuel Bonder, a spokesman for Mr. Shapiro, said the governor ‘was not aware of the complaint or investigation until months after the complaint was filed.’ Mr. Shapiro should have been notified of the allegations sooner, Mr. Bonder said, and he has now ordered that he be immediately informed of any such complaint against a senior staff or cabinet member.”

Although the motive behind the new statement is not completely clear, it seems reasonable to think Shapiro is responding to criticisms of how long Vereb continued to linger in his job after the allegations were made.

However, certain elements of the timeline can be gleaned from different sources which either cast doubt on Shaprio’s new account, or would otherwise seem to implicate members of his top staff of extreme negligence, none of which would reflect well on the Shapiro administration.

First, according to the accuser’s account, she levied her accusations against Vereb on March 6, 2023, in a meeting with her superior, Adrienne Muller, Vereb’s executive deputy secretary of legislative affairs, as well as Darice Mayhew, the governor’s director of administration.

Early the next morning on March 7, 2022, an email went out to certain members of Shapiro’s staff saying that the accuser had just quit.

Then 2:34 p.m. the same day, an email was circulated discussing “internal personnel matters[.]” That email included both Executive Deputy Chief of Staff Larry Halisham, and Mayhew, according to a document log obtained by Broad + Liberty.

Having the executive deputy chief of staff looped in on the accuser’s departure so quickly would seem to get the matter placed close to the governor, unless Halisham’s underlings were keeping the core matter from him.

The accuser signed her complaint to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission on May 26, 2023, and the complaint also says a simultaneous filing was made with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Either  of those actions should have triggered the governor’s notice.

Finally, documents show the $295,000 out-of-court settlement between the accuser and Shapiro’s administration was finalized on Sept. 5, 2023, when the mediator signed the agreement. Shapiro’s attorneys signed the agreement on Sept. 1. Negotiations would have taken place for days if not weeks before the agreement could be finalized.

Shapiro had to have known about the allegations by this time, or else his office was somehow able to execute a $295,000 settlement without the governor’s knowledge — especially because about $45,000 of the settlement had to come from somewhere in the governor’s own office funds. Yet Vereb remained in office for another three to four weeks after the settlement was signed.

Broad + Liberty emailed a request for comment to Democratic Senators Katie Muth (Montgomery), Lisa Boscola (Lehigh/Northampton), Amanda Cappelletti (Delaware/Montgomery), Judith Schwank (Berks), and Christine Tartaglione (Philadelphia). In an effort to make sure that request for comment was not missed, Broad + Liberty also included the press secretary for the Democratic Senate Caucus, and texted that press secretary as well. None of those parties responded.

The request for comment was sent to those senators in particular because they were named as having participated in a conference with Shapiro about a week after Vereb’s departure to discuss concerns about how the matter had been handled.

“The lawmakers — some of whom had questioned Shapiro’s handling of the allegations lodged against Mike Vereb, his top liaison to the General Assembly — declined to comment after the meeting,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. “Some left the hour-long, closed-door meeting visibly frustrated, and one senator later said she still had ‘unanswered questions.’”

The Pennsylvania Senate’s top-ranking officer, Senate President Pro Tem Kim Ward (Westmoreland) provided unvarnished criticisms in the wake of the “didn’t know” line of defense from Shapiro and his press secretary.

“It is unimaginable that Gov. Josh Shapiro had no knowledge of the sexual harassment incidents taking place in his own office. Let’s be clear — there were not one but two cabinet level secretaries, who are direct reports to Shapiro named in this sexual harassment matter. One stepped down on his own and the other remains in his powerful advisory role to Shapiro to this day,” Sen. Ward said, referring to Akbar Hossain, Shapiro’s secretary of policy and planning.

The accuser’s complaint said Hossain made sexually inappropriate remarks suggesting the accuser was already in a physical relationship with Vereb. It’s not currently clear the degree to which these allegations have been addressed.

“It is becoming apparent that any attention Shapiro or his staff gave this matter was protective to cover their office. Shapiro has had every opportunity to step up and do the right thing and he has failed every time,” Ward added. “Leadership and culture start at the top. Shapiro’s excuse that he didn’t know until months after two of his top advisors were named in a sexual harassment complaint by an employee in his own office is simply not believable.”

Senator Kristen Phillips-Hill (R – York) was also highly critical given the new remarks by Bonder.

“More than a year later, the sexual harassment incident involving Gov. Shapiro’s inner circle remains unresolved. Worse yet and with each inquiry, we uncover more evidence that a ‘thorough investigation’ was never completed. It’s clear Gov. Shapiro’s words and actions don’t match as demonstrated by the timeline of emails and data. Equally disturbing in this matter is the other cabinet secretary named in the claim remains a direct report to Shapiro to this day, and there is no evidence that his actions were ever addressed,” Phillips-Hill said.

“I know the governor has his eyes set on the Naval Observatory (the Vice President’s official residence) but perhaps he could learn from someone who once served as Vice President. Harry Truman had a slogan on his desk that read, ‘The buck stops here.’ Under the Shapiro Administration, words get broken and blame gets passed. The hypocrisy of claiming to protect victims of sexual harassment, while his administration quickly and quietly hands out NDAs should not be lost on anyone. It’s a pattern of behavior that needs to be remedied through bipartisan legislation because Gov. Shapiro can’t lead the effort.”

The accuser’s attorney, Chuck Pascal, was also harsh on the new defense.

“Either 1) he has no idea what goes on in his own inner circle, and office suite; or, 2) his top staff, including his Chief of Staff, keeps him in a “good news only” bubble for whatever reason; or 3) this statement has ZERO credibility,” Pascal posted on X yesterday.

“Also, this ‘statement’ [by Bonder] is incredibly offensive in that it assumes that we, the public, and also those of us who know all of these players, are just stupid or will drink the kool-aid. It’s offensive and  insulting,” Pascal added.

In addition to representing the accuser, Pascal is the chair of Armstrong County Democratic Committee, and a member of the PA Democratic Party Executive Committee.

Requests for comment to Vereb were not returned or were unsuccessful.

A Broad + Liberty report on Friday raised questions about the thoroughness of any misconduct investigation into Vereb. The report provided documents showing the governor’s office may have provided legal advice to Vereb at a time when he should have been under investigation.

The report also showed that in response to a Right to Know request for certain documents such as a letter or email informing Vereb that he was under investigation, the governor’s office said no such documents exist.