Here’s a headline I did not expect to see: “Rep. Tony Gonzales accuses dead staffer’s husband of trying to blackmail him amid affair scandal”.
Rep. Tony Gonzales
Republican U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales of San Antonio on Thursday claimed he was being blackmailed by the husband of a former staffer who died by suicide. Earlier this week, the San Antonio Express News reported that the staffer had confided in a colleague that she had an affair with the congressman while they were both married.
“I WILL NOT BE BLACKMAILED. Disgusting to see people profit politically and financially off a tragic death,” Gonzales wrote in a social media post on X. He shared a screenshot of half of an email, which seems to indicate a lawyer for the staffer’s husband is requesting a settlement of up to $300,000 from Gonzales in exchange for a nondisclosure agreement.
The email, which is not dated or timestamped, is signed by Robert Barrera, an attorney who is representing the staffer’s husband. Barrera did not immediately return phone calls or emails, but confirmed to the Express-News that he wrote the email.
Gonzales, his campaign, lawyer and representatives in his office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a statement to The Texas Tribune on Wednesday, Gonzales did not answer questions about the alleged affair but blamed his opponent in the March 3 GOP primary for trying to use the woman’s death to score political points. He has previously dismissed the affair allegation as untrue.
The former aide, Regina Santos-Aviles, died last year after setting herself on fire in Uvalde. A social media account purporting to be Santos-Aviles’ husband, Adrian Aviles, responded to Gonzales’ post, calling him a “two-faced politician.”
“We have never blackmailed anyone,” the post said. “What we’ve seen instead is a consistent pattern of evasion, refusal to take accountability, and outright lies to protect your image.”
The email screenshot shared by Gonzales indicates Aviles’ attorney was considering filing a lawsuit under the Congressional Accountability Act, which allows staffers to sue over discrimination, harassment or labor violations for up to $300,000, but was concerned about potentially damaging the lawmaker’s reputation.
“I don’t have a way to file it without potentially damaging his career, even if I am unsuccessful in its pursuit,” Barrera wrote. “That is clearly not my goal or we would have filed this claim already.”
Barrera told the Express-News he was “in shock” that Gonzales and his lawyer chose to publish part of what he described as confidential communication about a settlement communication.
“This is clearly a last act of a desperate man who is going to do anything but admit what he did,” Barrera said. He said the letter “clearly shows we did not want to go public, and we weren’t attempting to damage his career.”
[…]
Gonzales is facing a tough primary challenge from Brandon Herrera, a gun rights activist who came within 400 votes of beating the three-term congressman in a runoff election in 2024. Former Rep. Quico Canseco and Marine Corps Keith Barton are also running in the GOP primary.
President Donald Trump — who has endorsed Gonzales — won the 23rd Congressional District under its new boundaries by 15 percentage points in 2024, and Democrats have recently taken an increased interest in flipping it this November. Four candidates are competing for the Democratic nomination.
First, my condolences to Ms. Santos-Aviles’ family and friends. I have no idea what is going on here but her death is a tragedy.
Second, I have no idea how Rep. Gonzales survives this. I mean, “scandal” doesn’t mean what it used to mean in the shame- and consequence-free world of Republican politics, but this is still a hell of a thing. Gonzales has Trump’s endorsement but also nearly lost in 2024, barely scraping by in a primary runoff. Sure doesn’t seem like he has any margin of error.
Finally, whatever happens in that primary, so far none of the four Dems running have raised any money. That’s going to have to change. The Chron and the Current have more.