In my mailbox, from Rep. Jim Moran, Democrat of Virginia:
Prepared, published and mailed at taxpayer expense, the mailer emphasizes Rep. Moran “voted to strengthen the Violence Against Women Act.”
This was the news about Rep. Moran’s son Patrick, roughly one year ago:
Moran and his girlfriend were fighting outside 14th Street bar The Getaway around 1:23 a.m. on Dec. 1, according to a police report, over Moran talking to another woman at the bar. Suddenly, Moran allegedly slammed his girlfriend’s head into the bar’s metal trash can cage.
After the attack, police described Moran’s girlfriend as “bleeding heavily from her nose and also observed that her nose and right eye were extremely swollen.”
One of the ambulance technicians who transported her to Howard University Hospital told police that Moran appeared to have broken her nose and given her a skull fracture under her right eye. Moran was arrested for felony domestic violence assault, but pleaded the charge down to simple assault today. He was sentenced to probation.
In a statement to Washington City Paper, Rep. Moran described his son and his girlfriend as “good kids.“
“I hope their privacy will be respected,” the congressman said. “They look forward to putting this embarrassing situation behind them.”
The police report:
Looking further back:
In May 2001, Lloyd Grove, “Reliable Source” columnist for the Washington Post, reported that Moran’s house was the site of “a ruckus that a witness described as ‘something out of a Jerry Springer episode.’” According to Grove’s account, two female friends of Moran visited the recently divorced congressman and were surprised to find the other, and after screaming and door slamming, Moran had one of the women “by the arm, trying to get her out of the house.” Moran’s chief of staff, Paul Reagan, explained: “It was just two very good friends who came to give him birthday presents and were surprised that the other one was there.”
In June 2000, Moran’s wife, Mary, called police to their home claiming the congressman pushed her. Moran told police he pushed her in self-defense when she came toward him, but Mrs. Moran disputed that. There was no evidence of assault, and charges weren’t filed. They divorced shortly after the incident.