Leaders of yet another anti-domestic violence advocacy group come forward to say that they personally worked with Brent Furer on women’s issues, the former aide for Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) who was known for two years to have attacked a girlfriend with a knife.
“We know first-hand that Brent Furer, a perpetrator of domestic violence, worked on women’s issues in Senator Vitter’s office,” reads a statement from Sue Else, president of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. “Even if Furer didn’t work on women’s issues, he should have been fired for violently attacking an intimate partner. Senator Vitter should have fired Furer when he first learned about the case.
It is unacceptable that Senator Vitter continues to make excuses and minimize what occurred. This is his chance to speak out against domestic violence and make certain that his actions match his words. We call on Senator Vitter to acknowledge that he failed to act appropriately and show his strong support for life-saving legislation that serves survivors and holds perpetrators accountable.
Beth Meeks, executive director of the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, also confirmed to TPM that she worked directly with Furer on women’s issues after the knife attack, but before he resigned two years later.
Nevertheless, Vitter has insisted multiple times that the first-hand testimonials and documentary evidence are wrong, and that Furer didn’t work on “women’s affairs” per se, but rather on abortion.
We’ll try to get you further details from NNEDV.
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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