Joe Barton, Senior Republican,

Caught in Storm Over Explicit

Photo
Image

Representative Joe Barton during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing last
month.CreditDrew Angerer/Getty Images
By Nicholas Fandos and Jonathan Martin
Nov. 22, 2017

WASHINGTON The heightened scrutiny of sexual impropriety on

Capitol Hill has swept up a senior House Republican who apologized
Wednesday for a sexually explicit photograph that wound up on the
internet and raised the possibility that he had been the victim of a
crime.

Representative Joe Barton of Texas, who was once the chairman of

the House Energy and Commerce Committee and is now its vice
chairman, said that he was reconsidering his political future after the
photograph appeared on an anonymous Twitter account.
Mr. Barton, who has hired a crisis communications firm, made clear
he was ready for a fight. In a statement Wednesday night, he said
that he had suffered a potential crime. A Texas law, the so-called
revenge pornography law, makes it a misdemeanor to intentionally
publicize images or videos of someones genitals or sexual activity
without consent.

Hours after his initial apology, The Washington Post reported that Mr.
Barton, 68, had threatened in 2015 to report to the Capitol Police a
woman with whom he had shared explicit photographs, videos and
messages if she exposed him.
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The woman, who spoke anonymously, shared with The Post a

recorded phone conversation in which the congressman confronted
her about communications she had with other women connected to
Mr. Barton, including sexually explicit material he had shared with
her.

Mr. Barton did not dispute the womans account. But in his
statement, he said that she threatened to publicly share my private
photographs and intimate correspondence in retaliation when he
ended their relationship.

Today, the Capitol Police reached out to me and offered to launch

an investigation and I have accepted, he said. Because of the
pending investigation, we will have no further comment.

A spokeswoman for the Capitol Police did not immediately reply to a

request for comment.

In his earlier statement, Mr. Barton had said that while separated
from his wife, he had sexual relationships with other mature adult
women.

Each was consensual. Those relationships have ended, he said. I

am sorry I did not use better judgment during those days. I am sorry
that I let my constituents down.

The photograph of a naked Mr. Barton, with his genitals obscured

before it was posted, set off waves of speculation in Texas and
Washington, where sexual harassment charges are roiling Capitol
Hill. The tweets, which appeared Monday, included an image of a
sexually explicit text message, ostensibly sent by Mr. Barton, along
with a cryptic reference to harassment.

In addition to the recorded phone conversation, The Post reported

that the woman had shared messages she exchanged with the
congressman and a cellphone video of the congressman
masturbating. The Post, which reviewed the video, said the
photograph posted on Tuesday appeared to be a still shot from the
video.

It was not clear why the photograph was posted. The woman who
spoke with The Post said she had not put the image on Twitter
herself. Lawmakers called and texted one another Tuesday night and
Wednesday morning trying to discern whether the photograph was
authentic, but received no guidance from the partys leadership or
Mr. Barton.
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Direct messages sent to the Twitter account that posted the image
have not been returned.

AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Speaker Paul D. Ryan of

Wisconsin, said Wednesday afternoon that Mr. Ryan had spoken to
Mr. Barton on the matter but would keep those conversations
between the two of them.

Mr. Barton is the longest-serving member of the Texas congressional

delegation and was the Energy and Commerce Committee chairman
when President George W. Bush was in the White House.

He had lowered his sights more recently, telling associates that he

hoped to claim the investigatory subcommittee of the Energy and
Commerce panel. That subcommittee chairmanship is currently
vacant because its most recent chairman, Representative Tim
Murphy, Republican of Pennsylvania, resigned last month after it
was revealed that he had encouraged his mistress to seek an
abortion.
Unlike other veteran lawmakers who have retired after their time
atop influential committees has come to an end, Mr. Barton had
shown no interest in leaving Congress.

Im the odd duck who didnt quit, he joked to The Dallas Morning
News in an interview this month.

His personal life has been more turbulent than his political career.
He divorced his first wife in 1993 and his second wife two years ago.

Mr. Barton has young children from his second marriage, and one of
them, his 10-year-old son, was at the congressional baseball
practice this year when a man sprayed the field with bullets, gravely
injuring Representative Steve Scalise. Mr. Barton is the longtime
coach of the Republican baseball team.

Democrats were not planning to aggressively contest Mr. Bartons

conservative-leaning seat: His best-funded challenger, Jana Lynne
Sanchez, had only $16,440 on hand as of the start of October.