Last week, it was revealed that a now former aide to Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) by the name of Aidan Maese-Czeropski had filmed himself engaging in gay sex in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room. Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) also identified him as the staffer who confronted him and yelled "Free Palestine," though Maese-Czeropski claimed to have never seen the congressman. He's no longer working for Cardin, and the senator's office has been pretty tight-lipped about the situation, including on whether Maese-Czeropski was fired or allowed to resign. Matt also covered how Maese-Czeropski had even been previously promoted despite his history of problematic social media posts that he was told he needed to tone down.
🚨BREAKING: The office of Sen. Ben Cardin just sent out a statement saying that Aidan Maese-Czeropski is no longer employed after he filmed himself having sex in the senate hearing room. https://t.co/X8Zu27yO2F pic.twitter.com/MR2CghQKmQ
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 16, 2023
Cardin was a bit more forthcoming, at least more than he had been, when speaking to CNN about the matter outside of the Capitol on Monday night, though there was still plenty he wasn't willing to speak to. The senator would not talk about "how we handle personnel," and didn't know how the room was booked or how Maese-Czeropski got into the room where he had had sex.
"My knowledge of this, this over the weekend, when I learned about it, made sure that he was separated, so he left the Senate employment, and, that um, the appropriate steps were taken from the point of view of our office," Cardin offered.
When Manu Raju asked about any "unusual behavior" while Maese-Czeropski was employed, Cardin claimed he "would not be the right one to ask," pointing out once more that "these are personnel issues" which he would not speak to. But again, Maese-Czeropski had a history of suggestive social media posts, and the office knew about them, even telling him to tone it down.
Cardin on the staffer: pic.twitter.com/fstAqdBn2h
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 18, 2023
The Hill also covered how Cardin spoke to, or more accurately didn't speak to, how Maese-Czeropski is no longer with his office:
“I was angry, disappointed. It’s a breach of trust. All of the above. 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 and the Senate staff.”
The Maryland Democrat declined to say whether the staffer was fired, saying multiple times simply that he is “no longer a Senate employee.” Cardin also did not confirm the staffer’s name or say whether he had disciplinary issues prior to the leaked video.
“I am not aware of anything else involved here,” Cardin said. “This is a personnel issue and there’s some investigations going on.”
Cardin added that he has not talked to the ex-staffer and indicated that the individual has not apologized.
That the statement did not say outright that Maese-Czeropski was fired, and that Cardin won't speak to it, is a major red flag.
It's not just a problem of morality, either. As Matt has also highlighted, attorney Jonathan Turley has raised how Maese-Czeropski, who played the victim in the matter before deleted his LinkedIn profile, could be facing legal trouble. Cardin shared his office is cooperating with the Capitol police, though he says he has to "check to see if someone in [his] office was contacted," and he again stuck to how he wouldn't speak to the personnel issues.
Fortunately for Cardin, he's already retiring. He announced in May that he would not seek reelection.