Pelosi subpoenaed in sex discrimination suit

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been subpoenaed to testify about her involvement in the firing of a Capitol Police special agent who alleges that she is the victim of sex discrimination and retaliatory measures.

Capitol Police Special Agent Luanne Moran was assigned to protect Pelosi (D-Calif.) in the department’s dignitary protection division and alleges that she has been wrongly accused of leading the Speaker through an unauthorized building entrance. The Capitol Police Board alleges that the move jeopardized Pelosi’s safety. Moran was subsequently placed on administrative leave.

{mosads}But Moran’s lawyer, John Mahoney — who filed a civil case in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia last year — says the special agent was removed from Pelosi’s protective unit because she was a woman and because of a previous complaint that Moran had made against the department for sex discrimination.

Mahoney says that Pelosi was directly involved in the alleged incident in question and can defend his client’s innocence with her testimony, which he has requested for Nov. 1.

The Speaker is one of about 10 fact-witnesses that have been subpoenaed or are scheduled to be subpoenaed.

“My client’s name and reputation were tarnished, in part, as a result of the alleged incident,” said Mahoney. “I’m asking the Speaker to step up to the plate, tell the truth about what she knows, and appropriately protect Agent Moran, who has spent her career protecting Speaker Pelosi.”

Pelosi, through the House general counsel, can attempt to reschedule the deposition or she can try to use her role as Speaker as a reason for judicial immunity, said Mahoney, who added that the matter is strictly an employment issue and does not involve any political matters.

In 2007, Moran, who has been employed by the Capitol Police for the past 15 years, was seeking to join the dignitary protection unit but allegedly encountered some hurdles in doing so. Shortly thereafter she filed a discrimination lawsuit against the department, alleging that because of her gender she was prevented from being assigned to Pelosi’s protective division.

The complaint was settled and Moran was placed on the unit, but her lawyer maintains that the complaint has contributed to the hardships she has faced since then, including the alleged retaliatory measures of placing her on leave.

The Speaker’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.