In a looming scandal with far-reaching implications for both Democrats and the LGBTQ+ community, a pornographic video of two men having unprotected anal intercourse in the U.S. Senate hearing room has been shared widely on social media. As of Dec. 18, an investigation by Capitol police has been initiated into potential criminal violations.
The video, referred to as pornographic on most outlets, first surfaced on Friday, Dec. 15, shared by The Daily Caller from what it said was “a private group for gay men in politics,” and what another site said was a private WhatsApp group.
The Daily Caller is a right-wing news and opinion website founded in 2010 by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and political pundit Neil Patel. Conservative newspapers The New York Post and Washington Examiner identified one of the men in the video as Aidan Maese-Czeropski.
The incident, in which the men are completely naked save for a black leather jockstrap, allegedly involves Maese-Czeropski, 24, a rising political star in the Democratic party and a legislative aide to Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD). Cardin, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been in the Senate since 2007. Previously, Cardin served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1967 to 1987 and as its speaker from 1979 to 1987, the youngest person to ever hold the position. Cardin was the U.S. representative for Maryland’s 3rd congressional district from 1987 to 2007.
The video pans around the room, which appears to identify it as room Hart 216 — the Judiciary room — in the Hart Senate Office Building, where Supreme Court nominees are questioned and where some January 6th Committee hearings were held.
Maese-Czeropski has since been fired, according to Cardin’s office, which first made the statement to Politico early Saturday, also declining to comment further on what a spokeswoman called a “personnel matter.”
Cardin’s office said: “Aidan Maese-Czeropski is no longer employed by the U.S. Senate.”
Sharing the video, which has a warning of “graphic” on it, The Daily Caller wrote, “The alleged staffer can also be seen in a photo, naked on all fours, looking back at the camera on the table where Senators often sit to ask questions during a hearing. It appears to be unprotected sex.”
Another conservative site, The Spectator, wrote, “The public Twitter account of the audacious young ‘twink’ is comprised almost solely of him in flagrante delicto with his older ‘bear’ partner. The images and videos are explicit — and conspicuously and deliberately contain the staffer’s face.”
Maese-Czeropski’s Twitter/X account has since been scrubbed of any personal tweets and his Venmo and LinkedIn accounts have been deleted.
The incident went viral on social media starting Friday night, with GOP Congressional accounts claiming Democratic hypocrisy, since so many Democrats had spoken out about the Capitol being defiled on Jan. 6 by the insurrectionists, some of whom urinated and defecated in the halls. Cardin was on the Senate chamber floor when the rioters breached the Capitol.
Cardin had called the Senate chamber a “sacred space” while comparing the January 6, 2021 uprising with 9/11. On Jan. 8, Cardin called for the invocation of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution or impeachment to remove Trump.
Cardin said, “I refer to the U.S. Capitol as a sacred space because it is so much more than a building where the Senate and the House of Representatives meet and conduct business. It is the embodiment of our ideals, aspirations, and hopes. Insurrectionists desecrated the Capitol and everything it stands for, including liberty, self-government, and the rule of law.”
On Monday, Cardin told the media that he was “angry” and “disappointed,” and called the incident “a breach of trust.”
He said. “It’s a tragic situation, and it’s presented a lot of anger and frustration. I’m concerned about our staff and the way that they feel about this.”
Cardin said that he was unaware of any prior disciplinary issues with Maese-Czeropski in the two years he had worked for Cardin. He also told the media that he had not spoken to the former aide since the incident.
In a since-deleted statement posted to LinkedIn on Saturday, Maese-Czeropski commented on the incident while not confirming he appeared in the video. “This has been a difficult time for me, as I have been attacked for who I love to pursue a political agenda,” Maese-Czeropski said.
He said, “While some of my actions in the past have shown poor judgement, I love my job and would never disrespect my workplace.”
Maese-Czeropski also said that he would be “exploring what legal options are available to me in these matters,” implying that he would sue for his firing or for dissemination of the tape.
PGN had requested comment from Maese-Czeropski via his LinkedIn account prior to his deleting it and via DM to his Twitter/X account, but received no reply.
Maese-Czeropski began working in Cardin’s office in October 2021 as a staff assistant. His LinkedIn account stated that he had been elevated to Cardin’s foreign policy, tax and trade team. Maese-Czeropski has a bachelor’s of science in society and environment from the University of California, Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources and also studied global environmental change and sustainability at Johns Hopkins University. He previously was an intern for the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).
After graduation, Maese-Czeropski served as a field organizer for the Democratic Party of Virginia, where he campaigned for President Biden. Maese-Czeropski also worked on the statewide Latino outreach program, “Todos con Biden,” a campaign effort to register thousands of Spanish-speaking voters.
During his time as a field organizer, Maese-Czeropski also appeared in a 2020 campaign video with then-candidate Biden. He posted risque comments about that on his accounts, including a post on his now-deleted Venmo account on March 5, 2020, in which he wrote, “I want Joe Biden to spit in my mouth.” The New York Post published a screengrab of the post.
In the District of Columbia, posting pornographic material without the consent of the involved parties carries a variety of penalties, ranging from misdemeanor to felony charges.
GOP accounts with large followings were outspoken on the incident, which many used to promote homophobic and transphobic rhetoric. Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) quote-tweeted the video saying, “Heck of a week for the Left. Gay porn in the Senate, swearing in ceremony on child porn in Virginia, tranny tap dancers in the White House, and Satanic statues in Iowa. What else am I missing?”
(Twitter/X noted that Collins’ language violated X rules, “However, X has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Post to remain accessible.”)
Conservative podcaster Josh Holmes quote-tweeted the video and said, “What have they done to my beloved senate.”
Replies to the original Daily Caller post and other large GOP accounts lambasted the Democrats and some suggested the other man in the video was Hunter Biden while others referenced George Santos.
Cardin has been staunchly pro-LGBTQ+ and during the Trump administration spoke out against the 2018 Supreme Court ruling in the Masterpiece CakeShop case, saying, “We should seize this moment as an opportunity to fight harder for equality and fairness everywhere.” Cardin then said, “The Equality Act is an imperative measure to fill this gap,” sponsoring the legislation. Cardin concluded, “We must be free to love whomever we love, without fear of discrimination or bias.”
Noted conservative legal scholar Jonathan Turley — who has testified before the Senate on numerous occasions, including the Russia probe and the second Trump impeachment — there are numerous charges that could be filed related to the incident, including:
- D.C. Code § 22–1312 for lewd, indecent, or obscene acts
- 18 U.S. Code § 641 for the misuse of government property
- 18 U.S. Code § 1752 for criminal trespass on government property
Turley wrote, “The key factor is the fact that this videotape was made with the apparent intent to publish or to distribute.”
Turley, who wrote a long post on his website about the incident, said, “Sex in congressional offices — by both members and staff — have long been known to occur on Capitol Hill. Yet, this was a public hearing room, albeit closed at the time, and a tape made for what appears public viewing.”
Turley said, “The pressure on the Capitol police is likely to be considerable in the coming days. Only recently, House members Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Jamie Raskin claimed that house rules were broken by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene showing Hunter Biden and a woman in a revealing picture, though he was purportedly wearing a swimsuit. Raskin objected that it would constitute ‘pornographic exhibits that might not be suitable for children watching.’”
Turley also noted, “Given the possibilities of charges, further public statements [by Maese-Czeropski] are unwise until the former aide speaks with counsel.”
At presstime, the Capitol police had no further information for PGN.