As the 2024 presidential race heats up with less than a month to go, Kamala Harris’s campaign has been hit with a wave of allegations targeting her husband, Doug Emhoff.
The claims, reported by DailyMail.com, stem from Emhoff’s time at the law firm Venable, where he worked before becoming Second Gentleman.
The accusations involve inappropriate behavior, misogyny, and favoritism, painting a stark contrast to the image of a feminist ally that the Harris campaign has promoted.
Former colleagues at Venable, where Emhoff held a leadership role from 2006 to 2017, have accused him of using expletives, organizing exclusive men-only cocktail events, and favoring young, attractive women for assignments and social engagements.
Some also allege that women who did not flirt with him faced professional consequences, such as being excluded from preferred case assignments or work perks.
One former staffer recounted an incident where Emhoff allegedly yelled at a female colleague for entering his office. “She had to ask him something,” the staffer explained. “His office door was closed. She asked his secretary if he was on the phone. When the secretary said no, she tapped on the door. He didn’t answer, so she slightly opened the door and peeked in. That’s when he said, ‘Get the f*** out of my office.’” The same staffer added that Emhoff later bragged about the incident to other partners, stating that he had “put her in her place.”
“What’s worse was he bragged about it to the management at Venable and they were aghast. He’s an a**hole. He told them how he “put her in her place”. A misogynist, that’s who does that.”
The allegations don’t stop there. A female lawyer at Venable described Emhoff as “very flirty,” saying that not reciprocating his advances could land someone on his bad side. “If you were one of his favorite people, certain rules didn’t apply to you,” she claimed. “But if you weren’t, you would face stricter deadlines or fewer opportunities.”
She also mentioned that Emhoff hosted men-only cocktail nights, which were eventually discontinued after complaints to the firm.
Another former attorney alleged that Emhoff used his position to demand portions of fees from new clients in exchange for assigning staff to cases. “To get your case staffed, you had to give him part of your origination bonus, or it wouldn’t happen,” she said, describing it as a common but questionable practice in law firms.
In a related development, a 2019 lawsuit filed by former Venable legal secretary Marjan Rabbi accused the firm of sex discrimination.
Rabbi’s lawsuit, while not naming Emhoff as a defendant, mentioned him specifically in her complaint.
Rabbi claimed that Emhoff hired a young, unqualified woman as a legal secretary due to her youth, attractiveness, and connections with powerful men in the office.
