CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Simone Grimes said if Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt's sexual harassment of her isn't bad enough, what makes it worse is the way he reacted to her complaint and the federal investigation that followed.
Grimes said the former congressman followed up with the crime with more coverup.
"What makes my skin crawl the most is that Director Watt -- instead of simply addressing the issue in some type of gentlemanly form, just acknowledging what he's done and letting this kind of die -- has just used all his power to just throw every hurdle, every process, every form of retaliation against me," Grimes said.
"The lengths of which he's gone to make sure I feel the full brunt of his power used against me has been just absolutely disheartening and discouraging," she added.
Watt, a Charlotte native and former congressman, will appear before a federal oversight committee Thursday for the first time since Grimes accused him of sexual harassment. Grimes will also testify, according to the House Financial Services Committee's witness list.
Grimes filed a formal complaint against Watt earlier this year. She also filed a $1 million lawsuit against FHFA, the agency Watt oversees, accusing him of sexual harassment and standing in the way of pay equity.
Grimes previously recorded some of her conversations with Watt.
"As much as I respect the '#MeToo' movement, there's an element of it that just says, 'Hey, anybody can make up anything,'" he said in a newly obtained recording. "Doesn't mean it's credible. It just means that's the world we're living in at this moment. There's a difference between a claim of discrimination and a credible claim of discrimination... it inconveniences everybody involved in the process and there's nothing you can do about it. You know, I could tomorrow go and file a complaint against you. It doesn't have to be credible, but it has to be investigated."
Grimes said Watt's words during that conversation felt like a warning.
"Generally, the very people who are designed to be protected by laws end up being abused by those same standards," Watt said in the recording.
Once Watt found out Grimes filed a formal complaint against him, she said he started living up to his words.
"He's very well aware of what he did and he's had ample opportunity to just apologize and move forward," she said.
Instead, she said the FHFA has continued to retaliate against her. She said she believes it's part of an effort to scare other women from coming forward.
"I've had FHFA staff at my front door, banging at my front door, scaring my children, demanding entry," she said. "They've certainly made a point of just continuously retaliating against me."
Watt continues to say little publicly. Early on, in a statement, he told us he believes the investigation will confirm he's "not done anything contrary to law."
Grimes said Watt refused to be interviewed as part of the independent federal investigation, arguing presidential appointees are exempt from federal policies because they're not considered employees.
We asked the FHFA if that was true and the agency said "no comment."
"Just to see people manipulate and abuse that power in a way that is only to serve their personal interests and be so defiant when they're kind of caught red-handed is just disappointing," Grimes said.
Grimes said the independent investigation prompted by her complaint actually wrapped up more than 40 days ago and she's yet to hear a word about what's next. Thursday's House Financial Services Committee hearing, scheduled for 10:30 a.m., is especially significant for that reason.
"Just to be reduced to an object, a sexual object, it's demeaning. It's intimidating. It's harassing," she said.
