Smooching Congressman Says He Won't Resign, Candidly Texts Strangers
On Monday a leaked surveillance video of Rep. Vance McAllister (R-La.) showed the married congressman kissing one of his staffers, Melissa Peackock (who happened to be the wife of one of his donors and friends, Heath Peacock). McAllister, apparently, isn't keen on living the Christian principles around which he centered his campaigned. He's also surprisingly candid when strangers text him.
CNN talked to the cuckolded Peacock who said, "It was just a kiss, that was all it was, but it embarrassed me and my family." An embarrassment enough that the couple is "headed for divorce." He also provided some personal insight on McAllister. He claims that the congressman "broke out the religious card and he's about the most non-religious person I know…. I know his beliefs. When he ran one of his commercials, he said 'I need your prayers,' and I asked, 'When did you get religious?' He said, 'When I needed votes.'"
McAllister has asked for the prayerful forgiveness of his constituents but hasn't apologized to Heath for macking on Melissa. If he hadn't caused the couple enough trouble yet, Melissa is now out of a job. The lawmaker's office says she "voluntarily left congressman's employ," though sources like Talking Points Memo are saying she was fired.
The scandal isn't getting McAllister down, though. "Unless there is an outcry for me not to serve," he promised the citizens of Louisiana that he will "continue to represent the people."
Instead, McAllister is going to focus on finding the person who released the tape, which came from his own office's security system. To accomplish this, he sent a request to Congress for an FBI investigation.
His degree of self-awareness seems ever lower in light of another development. An anonymous individual "claiming that he'd found McAllister's cell phone number online, and started texting with him" had a pretty open conversation about the incident until McAllister realized he had no idea who he was talking to, according to Gawker. The site contacted McAllister's office which neither confirmed nor denied that the conversation.
