What Did GOP Leadership Know Of Congressman Souder’s Affair With Female Staffer?

The GOP asked the Democratic leadership many questions during the time Eric Massa had his 15 minutes of fame, and now it is time to reverse the chairs, and see what shakes with Congressman Souder.

Here is the timeline of events, according to Pence and other aides close the GOP leadership:

On Wednesday, May 12, Pence was alerted to rumors that Souder was having an extramarital affair. Pence confronted Souder on the House floor the next day, on May 13, and demanded to know the details of what was going on between Souder and at the time an unidentified woman.

Pence said in an interview with NBC News: “I was approached by a journalist, I think, Wednesday of last week, who asked if I had heard anything about my colleague. I indicated that I hadn’t. I then approached Mr. Souder on Thursday on the House floor to inform him of that inquiry, and it was at that point that he shared that he had been involved in an extramarital affair; it’s a deeply saddening event.”

But Pence, according to House leadership aides, never mentioned the rumors to House Minority Leader John Boehner — ironic given the GOP’s criticism of Democrats for not acting on the initial rumors surrounding Massa.

When asked about why Pence was slow to act, Pence spokesman Matt Lloyd replied, “In response to a general media inquiry, Mr. Pence confronted Mr. Souder on Thursday. Mr. Souder confessed to an affair, but did not mention that it was with a part-time staff member. It was not until Sunday evening that Mr. Souder called Mr. Pence to inform him that the affair was with a part-time staff member. Mr. Pence encouraged Mr. Souder to resign immediately and notified Ethics on Monday.”

Pence’s claim that he didn’t know the affair was with a staffer would seem to minimize its seriousness, because an affair with a non-staffer doesn’t bring up the type of concerns that would be sent to the House Ethics Committee.

But others have a different understanding of events. Senior aides close to the GOP leadership tell NBC that Souder’s staff originally dismissed the allegations of an affair as pure rumor on May 13, and continued dismissing the story the next day. According to these aides, it wasn’t until Saturday that Souder’s staff requested a meeting with GOP leadership aides to take place the next day, when the staff admitted to Boehner’s staff that an affair had taken place — and that it was with a staffer.

Once confirmed, Boehner alerted the House Ethics Committee of Souder’s affair in a letter he sent on Monday. By Tuesday morning — May 18 — the story broke.