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Former Rep. Katie Hill (D-CA) has been bankrupted by a dismissed lawsuit against the Daily Mail and two other reporters after nude photos of her leaked, which resulted in her 2019 resignation.
Hill resigned during a House Ethics investigation. She was alleged to have engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a House staffer.
She denied the affair but admitted to a consensual relationship with a campaign staffer.
The Daily Mail published leaked nude images of Hill smoking a bong and kissing a woman. She sued the outlet and two conservative reporters, but a judge ruled against her.
She was ordered to pay attorney fees totaling roughly $220,000.
In a tweet Tuesday, Hill announced she would file for bankruptcy and also expressed being “let down by our legal system.”
In a broader statement, Hill wrote, “Victims of cyber exploitation are being let down by our legal system, and I have gotten an unfortunately personal look at the damage that can do.” She added:
When a vengeful person, political opponents, and a global tabloid conspired
to take and publish naked photos of me – including those taken without my knowledge or consent – a judge ruled that my naked body was in the public interest, and that I had no right to hold accountable those responsible for this assault to my privacy and dignity.I incurred substantial financial loss to fight this case because I believe it was my responsibility to do so to try to protect future victims of cyber exploitation. The consequences for me personally meant that I had to recently file bankruptcy. Still, I don’t regret doing so, despite the severe and lasting financial repercussions of the offensive and just plain wrong ruling.
Hill called for a “federal cyber exploitation law to protect victims who are currently left to personally fight attacks and abuse without a legal system to support them.”