WASHINGTON — The U.S. Capitol Police said Thursday that it's closing an investigation into a leaked video of people having sex inside a Senate hearing room after it determined there was no evidence of a crime.
"After consulting with federal and local prosecutors, as well as doing a comprehensive investigation and review of possible charges, it was determined that — despite a likely violation of Congressional policy — there is currently no evidence that a crime was committed," the agency said in a statement.
The police said that while the hearing room wasn't open to the public at the time, when the video was recorded on the morning of Dec. 13, a congressional staffer involved had access to the room inside the Hart Senate Office Building.
"The two people of interest were not cooperative, nor were the elements of any of the possible crimes met," the statement said. "The Congressional staffer, who has since resigned from his job, exercised his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and refused to talk to us. Our investigators are willing to review new evidence should any come to light."
The conservative outlet The Daily Caller first published the video, saying that it showed a congressional staffer having “sex with an unknown man in the Senate hearing room” and adding the video was shared “in a private group for gay men in politics.”
Conservative outlets identified Aidan Maese-Czeropski, who worked for Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., as the staffer in the video. NBC News didn't confirm the identities of the participants.
Soon after the video surfaced and after Cardin's office said Maese-Czeropski was no longer employed, he put up a post on LinkedIn saying that while he had shown “poor judgement” in the past, he “would never disrespect my workplace.”
“This has been a difficult time for me, as I have been attacked for who I love to pursue a political agenda,” he wrote. “While some of my actions in the past have shown poor judgement, I love my job and would never disrespect my workplace. Any attempts to characterize my actions otherwise are fabricated and I will be exploring what legal options are available to me in these matters.”
