Ex-Rep. Katie Hill notes 'misogyny and double standards' in scrutiny of Joe Biden's VP

WASHINGTON – Former Rep. Katie Hill, who resigned last year amid an ethics probe over an alleged sexual relationship with a congressional aide, says the woman Joe Biden picks as his running mate will be subject to a higher level of scrutiny than if he had chosen a man.

"We still have so much more work to do and one of the things that we see the most is the double standard to which women are held, and we're seeing this play out perfectly in the VP process," the California Democrat said on MSNBC.

The sentiment is one Hill says she understands better than most and a concept she chronicles in her new memoir, "She Will Rise," that tells the story of her stint in Congress, from flipping a Republican-held House seat for Democrats to the scandal that nearly caused her to take her own life several times. In it, Hill says she also focuses on the need for more women in office and the changes needed in society, according to a summary of the book on Amazon.

The promising Democratic recruit's future on Capitol Hill was halted in October after a right-wing website posted nude photos of her along with claims she was having a sexual relationship with an aide. She denied the claim but admitted to having a relationship with a campaign staffer. Two weeks after the photos and claims surfaced, Hill resigned.

Hill, 32, has repeatedly acknowledged her relationship with a staffer was inappropriate and says in the excerpt she doesn't regret stepping down from Congress, but has argued many men have dealt with similar scandals and didn't see their careers derailed.

"I'm leaving, but we have men who have been credibly accused of intentional acts of sexual violence and remain in boardrooms, on the Supreme Court, in this very body, and worst of all, in the Oval Office," she said in her final floor speech in October.

She writes in her book, according to a excerpt published in Los Angeles Magazine, about the marriage to her estranged husband. She also details the moment she found out about the nude photos being published and the loneliness she felt as she wrestled with the embarrassment, threats and her future.

Hill's husband has remained fairly quiet about the scandal but has denied, through family statements, having played a part in the leaking of the photographs, according to Buzzfeed News. The pair was going through a divorce at the time.

"I didn’t quite accept it until a few days later, but the future I had imagined as a leader in Congress, the job I was good at and loved and knew I was making a difference by doing, was over," Hill writes, adding in vivid detail the one evening she sat in a tub and contemplated taking her own life. "How could I ever face anyone again, knowing what they’d seen? What they knew?"

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On MSNBC Monday, Hill noted the level of scrutiny Biden's vice presidential nominee finalists have already received. She said there was a "real reconciliation that we have to have" with how the country talks about women and noting that while there had been progress, a lot more needed to happen.

"This is now a time where we realize, you know, such gains are fragile, and we saw that with my own case," she said. "It can be taken away in a moment's notice because of the misogyny and double standards that are at play."

She continued, saying "We have to have that same realization when it comes to the vice presidential nominee and I'm concerned about the way they've already treated that process and certainly the way that it's going to be used moving forward."

Some have attacked critiques of Biden's potential vice presidential picks as sexist or demeaning.

A former Democratic party chair was quoted in The Washington Post noting former National Security Advisor Susan Rice doesn't smile much and when she did, it was "charming." A headline in Bloomberg recently asked: "Is Kamala Harris Too ‘Ambitious’ to Be Vice President?"

Since her departure from the House in the fall — less than a year after coming to Congress and departing amid an ethics probe into her relationship with the staffer — Hill started a Political Action Committee dubbed, "HerTime," that is dedicated to helping elect women to office in hopes of achieving parity for women.

But the scandal has continued to follow Hill with Republicans denouncing her and her relationship with the staffer. Conservative commentators Ben Shapiro attacked Hill and press coverage of her new book on Twitter, saying, "Hey look another puff piece from a major media outlet on a Congresswoman who had to step down because she was nailing the staff."

Hill's seat was filled by Republican Mike Garcia in a May special election, a blow to Democrats seeking to expand their House majority but a race that Republicans have pointed to that could be a signal of how November could shape up. Garcia's term expires in January.

Her last speech: California Rep. Katie Hill gives final speech in Congress: 'I'm leaving now because of a double standard'

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Katie Hill notes 'misogyny'' in scrutiny of Joe Biden's VP pick