LinkedIn/Garrett Ventry
Garrett Ventry, a spokesman for the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh, has resigned after sexual harassment allegations emerged. The allegations emerged as part of an NBC report that dropped on the morning of September 22. The allegations stem from Ventry, 29’s, time working in the social media team for North Carolina House Majority Leader John Bell in 2017. Bell confirmed that Ventry worked for him but didn’t disclose the reason for his firing. A source told the network that the firing was as a result of Ventry lying on his resume about being a paid member of Senator Marco Rubio presidential campaign when in reality he was a volunteer. That source also confirmed that there sexual harassment allegations against Ventry. That source said, “[The firing] cause a lot of staff drama. It was the chatter of the staff. The whole thing got turned into he said, she said, and then Garrett was fired.” Ventry has denied the allegations made against him.
Ventry Makes No Reference to His Past Employment on His LinkedIn Page
Haha @LaurenZelt and I look like anchors not guests
Ventry refers to himself as working in “Media Relations at PR” in Washington D.C. on his LinkedIn page. He makes no reference to working for Bell or Senator Rubio on that page. It states that he was worked in D.C. since May 2017. He lists volunteer experience with the YMCA and in “Community Involvement” with Wells Fargo. The former director of communications for North Carolina’s Republican party, Kami Bonner, wrote an endorsement for Ventry on his page saying, “Garrett is one of the best in the field– he operates on instinct, and his instinct is always spot on. Garrett is a go-getter, never quits, and works around the clock to make sure the job not only gets done, but is done well and executed to perfection. I’d recommend his great work to anyone.”
Online records show that Ventry is a graduate of Liberty University where he attained a degree in Economics and of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he studied in a Mid-Management Program. Those records show that Ventry has worked for Allstate, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, PNC, Wells Fargo before moving into politics in 2015 work on Senator Rubio’s presidential campaign. Ventry describes himself as working in “Rapid Response” and being the “Social Media & Grassroots Leader” for the Florida senator’s campaign. From there, Ventry says he went to work as the digital communications director for North Carolina’s GOP from 2016 until 2017. NBC reports that Ventry “appears” to work for CRC Public Relations, the firm that recommended Judge Kavanaugh to Donald Trump as Anthony Kennedy’s replacement. That information is backed up by a Zoom Info profile for Ventry.
Ventry Has Appeared on ‘Fox & Friends’ Defending Sen. Grassley’s Handling of the Allegations Against Judge Kavanaugh
It’s SCOTUS season w/ @ShannonBream
On September 19, Ventry appeared on Fox & Friends to defend Senator Grassley’s handling of Dr. Christine Ford’s allegation that Judge Kavanaugh attempted to rape her in high school. Ventry told Fox, “Chairman Grassley has led a very transparent process.” He added that Grassley would provide Dr. Ford with a “comfortable setting” for her proposed testimony, NBC noted in their reporting.
Thanks for the cool shirt @EliseStefanik
Ventry has also appeared on Shannon Bream’s Fox News’ show. During that appearance, Ventry said, “We’ve offered an opportunity to a public hearing, a private hearing, to meet with staff. We’ve even offered to fly anywhere around the globe to meet with her. We would go to California to send staff there so that we could do this in a comfortable setting for her as the chairman has said.” Ventry also took aim at California Senator Dianne Feinstein for sitting “on this information for about six weeks.”
Ventry tweeted on September 20 that, “To reporters asking: The Senate Judiciary Committee had no knowledge or involvement.” The tweet was in reference to the conspiracy theory pushed by D.C. lawyer Ed Whelan who claimed that the person who assaulted Dr. Ford was someone who looked like Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Whelan has apologized for his actions. Politico reports that CRC was behind Whelan’s conspiracy theory.
On a Separate LinkedIn, Ventry Refers to Himself as a ‘Church Planning Intern’
Gorsuch on the bench #BestPartof2017ForMe
On a separate LinkedIn profile, Ventry says he was a church planning intern at the North American Mission Board in Raleigh.
Ventry previously wrote two blogs for the website, Red Millenial. His profile on that website refers to him as “GOP political adviser located in North Carolina.” Both blogs were written in 2016 prior to Donald Trump’s election. The first opined that Nikki Haley should run for president in 2020. Ventry said, “Nikki Haley Embodies The American Dream- Haley’s parents are immigrants from India, who came to America seeking greater opportunity for their family.” The other said that Senator Marco Rubio should run for re-election in the Senate writing in part, “Rubio is one of the brightest minds on policy, a hopeful conservative, and one of the key Republican voices for the future of the conservative movement.” In 2016, Ventry listed himself as a contributor to Red Alert Politics. Ventry has also written blogs for Gospel-Centered Discipleship.
Ventry Says He Resigned so as ‘Not to Be a Distraction’
Screengrab via Fox News
Speaking to the Washington Post, Ventry said that the allegations against him are untrue but that he resigned from his position “in order to not be a distraction.” While a judiciary committee spokesman told the Post, “Garrett was one of several temporary staff brought on to assist in the committee’s consideration of the Supreme Court nomination, a team that has done outstanding work. While he strongly denies allegations of wrongdoing, he decided to resign to avoid causing any distraction from the work of the committee.” A CRC spokesperson also told the Post that Ventry was on a “leave of absence.”
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