SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas is prepared to aggressively fight a lawsuit filed by his ex-press secretary that claims he retaliated against her after she complained about allegedly politically corrupt activity between him and his brother, Rick Rivas.
Rivas addressed and denied the claims with Democrats in the State Assembly during a closed-door caucus meeting on Wednesday, multiple sources confirmed. Inside the meeting, the Assembly's Chief Administrative Officer, Lia Lopez, also talked about the allegations. The discussion was met with mixed reactions, with sources saying some lawmakers had questions while others were prepared to rally around their leader.
The lawsuit was filed by Cynthia Moreno, who served as Rivas' press secretary for a little more than two years until she was fired on Aug. 6 following sexual harassment allegations. The Assembly then released the heavily redacted harassment allegations to the public. Moreno sued on Tuesday night.
Both Rivas and Lopez have publicly rejected the claims outlined in Moreno's lawsuit. Lopez told KCRA 3 the claims were a "total fabrication." Rivas' campaign spokesperson has said in part, "Ms. Moreno’s long history of lawsuits speaks for itself, and any court will see this for what it is: an attempt by a former employee to force a payout."
"Ms. Moreno was fired and publicly shamed and slandered for reporting illegal and unethical behavior in our halls of government by the Rivas brothers," said...
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