Taitague is requesting Won Pat to convene a Committee on Ethics and Standards for further action if Rector declines to issue an apology.
When reached by Variety for comment, Rector emphatically said he would not apologize.
“No. After watching what she said in news interviews, I have taken total offense. These accusations that I have violated her — no!” Rector said.
“I take great offense to it and I’m talking to my attorneys. She is lucky if I do not sue the living heck out of her, if I can find anyway to sue her for defamation of character. Speeches are protected on the floor of the Legislature. It’s not protected when you talk in front of cameras or reporters and when you talk to cameras that’s on tape, that’s admissible in court,” he added.
The new complaint followed an earlier letter Taitague had forwarded to Won Pat. In that letter, the freshman Republican accused Rector of waving his hands at her, demanding she “bow” to his point of view. She also accused the Democrat of making sarcastic remarks about comments she made regarding Rector’s proposed amendment to the budget bill the day before.
Remarking on the grumbling from his Republican colleague, Rector explained that he waved his hands all the time whenever he speaks with passionate and that if Taitague took that as being aggressive, it was never intended to be that way.
“I have never acted physically inappropriately with any woman,” Rector said. “I have never acted physically inappropriately toward any man. I work with office women, good, strong, powerful women and I have never raised a hand against them. Anytime I have ever acted and said anything inappropriate, I have always come back and apologized immediately. It’s just insanely ridiculous that I would be accused of doing something like that,” said Rector.
