Florida congressman facing sex scandal

U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.) declined to say Monday whether he had carried on an affair with a former aide and paid her to keep quiet, but he then called on the House ethics committee to investigate his conduct.

Mahoney, who is married, issued his statement hours after ABC News reported on its website that he had agreed to pay $121,000 in March to a former mistress and staff member after she threatened to sue for sexual harassment. Mahoney said he would be vindicated.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also called for an investigation.

The network, citing unidentified current and former Mahoney staff members, said the congressman began his affair with Patricia Allen, 50, in 2006 while he was campaigning for Congress on a pledge to return morals to Washington.

Mahoney won after former Rep. Mark Foley, a Republican, resigned when it was revealed that he had sent salacious messages to male teenage pages who had worked on Capitol Hill. He did not face charges due to insufficient evidence.

A Mahoney spokesperson told ABC that Allen resigned willingly and “has not received any special payment from campaign funds.”