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California Democratic Party President Eric Bauman announced that he was taking a leave.
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California Democratic Party President Eric Bauman, who is the subject of an internal investigation after several party staff members accused him of sexual assault or harassment, takes a leave until the end of the investigation, announced Monday the party.
Party spokesman Mike Roth said Bauman had decided to stay away "[a]After the holiday weekend, we looked at the most constructive way for the work of the Democratic Party of California. "
"President Bauman believes that this decision is the best way to guarantee the independence and integrity of the process," Roth added. "The Party is confident that the procedures in place will allow all parties to present themselves freely and provide for a thorough and comprehensive review."
The internal investigation was launched after party vice-president Daraka Larimore-Hall called for Bauman's dismissal after what Larimore-Hall called "credible, corroborated and heartbreaking allegations" by "Several party staff members" who claimed that Bauman had been harassed or assaulted Representatives such as the US representative in California, Ro Khanna, and young Orange County Democrats called for Bauman to step down.
The Larimore-Hall email did not include details of the alleged incidents or the affected staff. The Sacramento Bee reported that Larimore-Hall spoke to two accusers and a witness before sending his email.
"I take seriously any allegation made by anyone who thinks they have been hurt," said Bauman in a statement announcing the investigation Saturday. "I am looking forward to putting these allegations behind us and going forward as unified democrats.
The party's executive committee could vote to remove Bauman from office. However, Larimore-Hall's appeal for Bauman's dismissal is still at several stages of such a vote.
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Bauman's resignation comes just weeks after the California Democrats made significant gains in the mid-term elections, winning key Congressional seats in a long-held Republican territory.
A series of allegations of sexual misconduct against lawmakers, lobbyists and other political figures has shaken the Californian political world at the end of last year, at the apogee of the #MeToo movement. Three Democrat men resigned as legislators after investigators hired by the state legislature discovered that they had probably engaged in inappropriate behavior.
Bauman narrowly won the party presidency last year against Kimberly Ellis after a controversial battle between establishment democrats and progressive activists. During this fight, Bauman stated that he was falsely targeted by rumors that he would have behaved inappropriately with teenagers. Bauman is the party's first openly gay president.
Bauman called the rumors "despicable lies", and Ellis denounced them.
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Senior Vice President Alex Rooker is expected to take over Bauman's duties during the course of the investigation.
Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Fox News, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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