A secret camera caught a Republican lawmaker pouring glasses of water into her Democratic colleague’s bag several times over five months. She apologized to her colleague in front of the Vermont House of Representatives.
Rep. Mary Ann Morrissey, who has been in office since 1997 and represents Bennington, Vermont, told Rep. Jim Carroll, who also serves Bennington, that she was sorry during a recorded House veto session on Monday.
Morrissey said out loud, “I am truly ashamed of what I did.” “I apologized to Jim sincerely in person and in public, and I will use our legislative process to work toward resolution and restoration.” It was behavior that was completely inappropriate for my role as a delegate and as a person. It also doesn’t reflect the 28 years of service and good manners I’ve shown.
Seven Days was the first to get videos of Morrissey through a public records request. On March 23 and 26, the videos show the congressman quickly pouring water into Carroll’s bag after he left.
“I went through this for five months,” Carroll said in the meeting after Morrissey said sorry. “…that was pain, there’s no doubt about it.”
Morrissey may not have known why he put the water in Carroll’s bag. USA TODAY tried to get in touch with Morrissey’s office on Monday night but has not heard back.
During the meeting, Carroll told the lawmakers that Morrissey “had a choice to make” every time, but she “didn’t choose to either drop it or come to me and say, ‘I’m sorry, I screwed up. Let’s get our act together and serve our constituents the way they should be.'”
Furthermore, Carroll stated that he is willing to meet with Morrissey to resolve their issues, even though he understood that the first meeting might be “awkward.”
He said, “We’re going to have to work together.” “When we sit down together for the first time, it will be awkward, but we have to start somewhere.”
Seven Days reported that Carroll put up a $23 spy camera in the hallway and pointed it at the coat rack outside his committee room to find out who was dumping the water. According to the news source, he then showed the tapes to House Speaker Jill Krowinski, who talked to Morrissey about it.
As seen by Seven Days, Carroll said in writing that he was “very reluctant to disclose the video because I believe it will deeply embarrass Representative Morrissey.” But he saw that “the media are aware of the details of Representative Morrissey’s behavior, and likely will continue to report on that behavior shortly.”
The source says that he wrote in the statement, “I believe it is right that I release the video and be fully transparent to my constituents and all Vermonters.”
Source: USA Today
