Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz on Sunday proposed a kind of political “death penalty” for elected officials who engage in sexual misconduct, even if it happened before they were elected to office.
On Fox News Sunday, Chaffetz was part of a panel discussing recent sexual harassment claims, and the renewed focus on President Bill Clinton’s inappropriate behavior while in the White House.
“I’m glad that we’re elevating the debate. I’m glad that this is becoming totally unacceptable on both sides of the aisle, and there should be a huge and massive political price, if not essentially the death penalty for people who engage in this, and that they cannot serve at the highest levels of government.”
Wallace asked him to clarify, and Chaffetz said he wants “a political death penalty, which is: why should we put up with anybody serving at the highest level of government who engages in this, whether it was 40 years ago or whether it happened while you were in office.”
Last year Chaffetz famously pulled his endorsement from Donald Trump after the “Access Hollywood” tapes surfaced wherein Trump bragged about sexually assaulting women. A few weeks after that Chaffetz said he could not endorse Trump, but would vote for him because Hillary Clinton was much worse than Trump’s actions.
