logo
Nancy Mace shows 'naked' photos in hearing, in push to tighten sexual misconduct laws

Nancy Mace shows 'naked' photos in hearing, in push to tighten sexual misconduct laws

USA Today21-05-2025
Nancy Mace shows 'naked' photos in hearing, in push to tighten sexual misconduct laws
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Watch: Rep. Nancy Mace's full 2024 RNC speech
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) delivers full remarks at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
WASHINGTON − Rep. Nancy Mace, R-South Carolina, held up a blurry, black and white photo of what she said was her "naked silhouette" during a House hearing May 20.
The image, Mace claimed, was a screenshot from a video taken without her consent on a "secret camera" by her ex-fiancé Patrick Bryant.
"I didn't pick this fight. I don't even want to be here today and discuss this," Mace said in her opening statements as chair of a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee.
Bryant is one of four men Mace accused of sexual misconduct, including raping herself and other women, during a graphic House floor speech in February. Outside her congressional office, Mace displays a poster with each of their photos, names and cities of residence, sandwiched between the words "PREDATORS" and "STAY AWAY FROM."
Her former partner has repeatedly denied her accusations. In a statement to multiple outlets, Bryant called the allegations from Mace "false and outrageous."
"I have never raped anyone. I have never hidden cameras. I have never harmed any woman," Bryant said following the May 20 hearing. "These accusations are not just false—they are malicious and deeply personal."
"My mistake was loving and trusting someone who later weaponized our relationship," he added.
Another man accused by Mace, Brian Musgrave, filed a lawsuit for defamation against Mace in March.
During the May House meeting, Mace showed additional images showing what she said were other women filmed without their knowledge while changing. (Their bodies were each covered entirely by pasted yellow circles, Mace said.)
The South Carolina lawmaker has said she is advocating for stricter laws protecting victims of non-consensual recordings.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Fears Of An Oil Price Crash On A Russia-Ukraine Ceasefire Overdone
Fears Of An Oil Price Crash On A Russia-Ukraine Ceasefire Overdone

Yahoo

time12 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Fears Of An Oil Price Crash On A Russia-Ukraine Ceasefire Overdone

U.S. President Donald Trump has, over the past couple of weeks, renewed efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, going as far as proposing the swapping of territories between the two countries. Unlike the situation during the first meeting between Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin earlier in the year, Trump has adopted a far less conciliatory tone ahead of their second meeting in Alaska on August 15th, warning that Russia will face 'very severe consequences' unless Putin agrees to end the war in Ukraine. However, the White House says it expects the Anchorage summit to be a 'listening exercise,' downplaying the odds of a peace deal being reached. Still, the potential of a return of more Russian energy commodities to the markets has depressed oil and gas prices amid expectations that a breakthrough in the negotiations could see sanctions on Russian exports lifted. Brent crude has pulled back from a 2-month high of $72.47 per barrel recorded two weeks ago to $66.72 per barrel in Thursday's intraday session, while WTI crude has declined from $70.00 per barrel to $63.81. However, commodity analysts at Standard Chartered have pointed out that fears that oil prices will crash if Trump manages to negotiate a truce with Putin are overdone. First off, StanChart says that Russia has been producing unsustainably at its maximum capacity with long-term consequences for its reservoirs. The country's oil production averaged 9.01 million barrels per day (mb/d) in H1-2025, about 610,000 b/d lower than the 2021 annual average before the invasion of Ukraine. A lifting of export sanctions will mean a return of Western service companies and Russia being able to access quality replacement parts; however, Russia just doesn't have a lot of spare production capacity to flood the oil Russia might demand the removal of the oil price cap by Western nations as part of the peace deal. However, the analysts have pointed out that the removal of the price cap would eliminate the price advantage for India and China to take Russian crude, currently the biggest buyers of discounted Russian oil. StanChart points out that India has been an opportunistic purchaser of cheaper Russian crude, and could revert to its previous import volumes with dire consequences for Russia. Previously, we reported that India imported goods worth $65.7 billion from Russia in 2024, a sharp rise from $8.25 billion in 2021. India's imports of Russian crude have increased more than 20-fold since the war began, jumping to $52.2 billion in 2024 from just $2.31 billion four years ago. Given the additional efforts Russia has undertaken to evade export sanctions, StanChart has predicted that we are unlikely to see a large increase in Russian supply to the global markets in the near term. JP Morgan echoes StanChart's view, saying that Russia has limited scope to expand its shadow fleet of tankers used to transport its crude. Finally, Russia might not dramatically increase its crude exports for the simple reason that there might not be a ready market for the commodity. After all, Europe has successfully cut its dependency on Russian oil and gas over the past three years, and the continent is highly unlikely to put itself in such a vulnerable position again, especially after Moscow revealed its willingness to weaponize its energy commodities. In the final analysis, StanChart says that although the market might react to positive ceasefire news by selling off in the near term, this would be sentiment- rather than fundamentally-driven, and any price-dip on headlines would likely be short-lived. When it comes to natural gas, StanChart notes that market expectations of higher Russian flows have been a key factor capping European gas prices in recent times. European natural gas futures have declined to a 2-week low of €32.5/MWh amid robust supply and easing geopolitical risk. While a ceasefire agreement and the associated removal of sanctions by the U..S and EU could potentially allow more Russian gas into Europe, StanChart expects appetite for Russian gas to be limited given the past weaponization of flows. The commodity experts say that a more likely development would be the return of small flows via Ukraine into Hungary and Slovakia. Finally, StanChart says that it's highly unlikely that the Trump administration would agree to a deal that would disrupt its own LNG sector, with U.S. LNG having largely replaced Russian pipeline gas to Europe. By Alex Kimani for More Top Reads From this article on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Failed New Mexico candidate gets 80 years in shootings at officials' homes
Failed New Mexico candidate gets 80 years in shootings at officials' homes

Los Angeles Times

time2 hours ago

  • Los Angeles Times

Failed New Mexico candidate gets 80 years in shootings at officials' homes

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A failed political candidate was sentenced to 80 years in federal prison Wednesday for his convictions in a series of drive-by shootings at the homes of state and local lawmakers in the aftermath of the 2020 election. A jury convicted former Republican candidate Solomon Peña earlier this year of conspiracy, weapons and other charges in the shootings in December 2022 and January 2023 on the homes of four Democratic officials in Albuquerque, including the current state House speaker. Prosecutors, who had sought a 90-year sentence, said Peña has shown no remorse and had hoped to cause political change by terrorizing people who held contrary views to him into being too afraid to take part in political life. Peña's lawyers had sought a 60-year sentence, saying their client maintains that he is innocent of the charges. They have said Peña was not involved in the shootings and that prosecutors were relying on the testimony of two men who bear responsibility and accepted plea agreements in exchange for leniency. 'Today was a necessary step toward Mr. Peña's continued fight to prove his innocence,' said Nicholas Hart, one of Peña's attorneys. 'He looks forward to the opportunity to appeal, where serious issues about the propriety of this prosecution will be addressed.' The attacks took place as threats and acts of intimidation against election workers and public officials surged across the country after President Donald Trump and his allies called into question the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Prosecutors said Peña resorted to violence in the belief that a 'rigged' election had robbed him of victory in his bid to serve in the state Legislature. The shootings targeted the homes of officials including two county commissioners after their certification of the 2022 election, in which Peña lost by nearly 50 percentage points. No one was injured, but in one case bullets passed through the bedroom of a state senator's 10-year-old daughter. Two other men who had acknowledged helping Peña with the attacks had previously pleaded guilty to federal charges and received yearslong prison sentences.

Skipping Mike Johnson
Skipping Mike Johnson

Axios

time2 hours ago

  • Axios

Skipping Mike Johnson

House Speaker Mike Johnson 's right flank is trying to bypass him repeatedly next month by forcing votes on releasing the Epstein files and banning congressional stock trading. Why it matters: The tool these members plan to use — the discharge petition — has been the source of growing controversy in the House. A discharge petition allows the House rank-and-file to force a vote on any piece of legislation if at least 218 members sign on. Top Republicans have discouraged the use of the maneuver, arguing it would effectively turn over control of the House floor to Democrats, but GOP populists have increasingly ignored that guidance. State of play: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) wants to force a vote on Rep. Tim Burchett's (R-Tenn.) bill to ban members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from trading or owning stocks. Tamping down congressional stock trading has been a cause célèbre for lawmakers in both parties for years, but congressional leaders have largely stonewalled their efforts to secure a vote. Another discharge petition from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on forcing the release of the Justice Department's documents on Jeffrey Epstein is set to trigger a vote within days of the House's return in September. Between the lines: The Epstein petition is widely expected to obtain 218 signatures, with most Democrats and several right-wing Republicans likely to sign on. Luna's petition may be more contentious, sources said, as there have already been months of bipartisan negotiations around carefully crafting a stock trading bill that can pass with support from leadership. Several Democrats told us Luna may not get the support she needs to pass her bill unless she coordinates with that bipartisan group. Luna previously secured 218 signatures this spring for a vote on allowing House members who are new parents to vote by proxy for up to three months, but the vote never came to pass. Johnson failed to procedurally kill the petition, then scrapped House votes until Luna agreed to a compromise. One House Republican involved in that saga, speaking on the condition of anonymity, predicted Johnson would have a tougher time trying to spike the Epstein and stock trading discharge petitions due to broad public interest. Zoom out: The Epstein push is a clear revolt against both President Trump, who has dismissed the matter, and Johnson, who has called for transparency but quashed several rogue efforts to release the files. Johnson has indicated his support for a stock trading ban, but it's unclear if he would support doing so through a discharge petition that could undermine his authority. Trump has indicated support for a stock trading ban in theory, but opposed a bipartisan Senate bill that would have extended the ban to future presidents and vice presidents. A spokesperson for Johnson did not respond to a request for comment. The bottom line: Both measures could also run aground in the Senate, which is less given to populist passions than the House and has a 60-vote threshold that makes it harder to pass legislation.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store