https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/feb/20/croatia-govt-accepts-resignation-of-freemason-stat/

Croatia govt accepts resignation of Freemason state attorney

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) - Croatia’s government on Thursday accepted the resignation of the country’s chief state attorney after he was forced to step down for being a Freemason.

The government said it would ask lawmakers to confirm the resignation of State’s Attorney Drzen Jelenic, who came under fire after he acknowledged his membership in a Masonic lodge.

Jelenic initially refused to resign, saying that being a member of the fraternal organization did not affect his independence. However, the prime minister and other Croatian officials insisted he leave his post as the country’s top prosecutor.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at a Cabinet meeting Thursday that membership in an organization or order like a Masonic lodge could undermine public trust in “the integrity of people running the highest institutions.”

“I would like to stress that this does not mean the state attorney has acted against the law or did not perform his duty objectively and independently,” Plenkovic said. “This duty does not leave any room for doubt in independence or objectivity.”

Jelenic became state’s attorney in 2018. Plenkovic said the government had no prior knowledge of his Masonry affiliation.

That moment when, you use every single excuse, your Depraved, Twisted, and Evil cohorts created to morph society away from innocence.

Former Rep. Katie Hill breaks silence months after resigning from Congress: 'I made the right call'

Former Rep. Katie Hill said she doesn't regret stepping down from her seat in Congress last year, but she does believe the fact that she was a bisexual woman played a huge part in "sensationalizing" the scandal.

"We haven't seen as many of the sex scandals with women," Hill told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview that aired Thursday on "Good Morning America."

The House Ethics Committee announced in October 2019 that it would investigate Hill for allegedly having a sexual relationship with one of her congressional staffers – an allegation she continued to deny to Stephanopoulos. The alleged relationship would have been a violation of House rules that were established in February 2018 following the #MeToo movement.

Hill has admitted to – and apologized for – having a relationship with a campaign staffer when she was running for Congress in 2018. That relationship was not covered by House rules since Hill was not a member of Congress at the time.

'Biggest mistake': Hill on not setting boundaries during her 2018 campaign

During the interview, Hill told Stephanopoulos it was "absolutely" her biggest mistake to have a relationship with a campaign staffer.

Even though she had no political experience when she began running for Congress, she said she should have set employer-employee boundaries.

"You're truly in the trenches with these – this very small team," she said. "Where I think I made the biggest mistake was not setting those boundaries from the very beginning."

It was non-consensual cyber exploitation: Hill on the leaked nude photos of her

Along with the relationship allegations, nude photos of her were published online without her consent. At the time, Hill claimed that her "abusive husband who seems determined to try to humiliate" her was behind it, and referred to the incident as "revenge porn."

Now, she tells Stephanopoulos that there is a problem with the term "revenge porn," but still believes her ex-husband was behind the initial photo leak.

"It implies A) that there's something to be taking revenge for, right?" Hill said. "That the woman maybe did something wrong in the first place. And pornography also could imply that – or could imply that it was – it was consensual, and it's not."

Representatives for Kenny Heslep, Hill's estranged husband, told ABC News he denies the allegations.

"Ms. Hill has made no allegations of abuse in her petition for dissolution," Heslep's lawyers told ABC News, saying he is asking for privacy during this moment. "Mr. Heslep denies any allegations of abuse or wrongdoing outright. The parties are currently in the process of negotiating an amicable settlement."

Hill's father, Mike Hill, released a public statement to defend his daughter last October. He called Heslep "evil" and said he hoped Hill would seek legal ramifications, citing California's Penal Code 647(j)(4), which outlaws distributing intimate images that would knowingly cause harm.

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/former-rep-katie-hill-breaks-silence-months-resigning-131755979–abc-news-topstories.html