Rep. Stark Issues Apology for His ‘Whore’ Insult
Rep. Pete Stark (D-Hayward) on Friday apologized to Rep. Nancy L. Johnson (R-Conn.) for calling her a “whore for the insurance industry” in a private conversation three weeks ago, a Stark aide said.
Johnson’s staff confirmed that an envelope from Stark, addressed to the congresswoman and marked “personal and confidential,” arrived at her Capitol Hill office Friday afternoon. The envelope was not immediately opened because Johnson was traveling to Connecticut, according to Lisa Pelosi, her press secretary.
“He apologized. He sent a letter of apology over to her,” the Stark aide said. He declined to release the letter but said it made the “unequivocal apology” that 32 female House members demanded.
Pelosi said Stark made the remark, first reported in the Capitol Hill newspaper, Roll Call, as the two members of the Ways and Means subcommittee on health were walking out of a Feb. 23 meeting on Medicare.
A Stark aide said the lawmaker was unaware that his comment upset anyone until Friday of last week when a Roll Call reporter telephoned with questions.
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