The Republican congressman who was caught on camera at a holiday party in Washington, D.C. yelling at a former aide said he did so because the aide had tried to make his 27-year-old daughter’s OnlyFans account public.
Rep. Brandon Williams, who represents New York state, pointed his finger at former chief of staff Michael Gordon in a heated confrontation outside the International Spy Museum during a celebratory event hosted by a lobbying firm.
Williams told Gordon, “If you mess with my family, I’ll end any relationship you have.”
The lawmaker told Politico on Friday that two former staffers, Gordon and Ryan Sweeney, who had served as legislative directors, threatened to expose his daughter for having an OnlyFans account — where users can produce sexually explicit material — after Williams fired them.
Gordon “tried to have some influence on me,” Williams said, “and I’m just not going to let that happen.”
Rep. Brandon Williams, a Republican from New York, said he got into a heated argument with a former aide at a holiday party in D.C. because the aide had tried to make his 27-year-old daughter’s OnlyFans account public.
Williams said it was Sweeney who filmed his confrontation with Gordon.
Afterward, Sweeney told his ex-boss, “Hey, f*** you! What do you think, b****? All I have to do is pay seven dollars to watch your daughter stick her phone up her p****!’
Gordon told Politico that “the allegations Congressman Williams has made against me are categorically false” and declined to comment further.
Sweeney also denied the allegations, telling Politico they are “completely false.”
In the video, Gordon told Williams, “I didn’t do anything.”
Williams then pressed closer to Gordon and shouted, “Do you understand me? You think I don’t know?’
A spokesperson for Williams initially responded to the release of the video, which was shot by a student journalist at Syracuse, by saying the fired aides “made rude comments about the female members of the congressman’s family.”
Williams points the finger at Michael Gordon, his former chief of staff, who he told Politico in an interview published Friday was a “deeply broken person”
During the confrontation, which was filmed by another fired Williams aide, Gordon said he did not know why the congressman was upset. The New York Republican said Gordon had threatened to steal his daughter’s OnlyFans account and told other Hill aides about it.
“These individuals spread stories to the media and one of them physically pushed the Congressman away during a holiday event (edited from the video),” the spokesperson said. “As a former nuclear submarine officer known for his temperament and poise, tonight should be a lesson to all: never go after this Navy Nuke’s family.”
Speaking to Politico, Williams said that after giving Gordon 30 days to find new work, the outgoing chief of staff contacted a Republican Party campaign adviser close to the lawmaker.
That advisor, Aaron Evans, told the news site that he relayed Gordon’s warning to the New York Republican in recent weeks — that he should think about how embarrassing it would be for his family if TMZ found out about his daughter’s OnlyFans account.
Williams said that several days prior to the Spy Musuem incident, he heard from other aides that Gordon told congressional staffers about his daughter’s OnlyFans account.
He also said “really rude things about my wife,” Williams told Politico.
Gordon had lived with Williams during part of his congressional campaign, and they also lived together when Williams arrived in Washington.
Williams is in his first term.
The congressman described his former chief of staff as a “deeply broken person.”
Williams was among the Republican lawmakers in New York who called for the impeachment of Rep. George Santos.
After Santos was expelled from Congress last week, the ex-New York lawmaker called on the House Ethics Committee to investigate Williams over the behavior shown in the video.
Williams represents a key swing district and is one of Democrats’ top targets in 2024 to regain control of the House of Representatives.