Ms. Driscoll and others mentioned that Mr. Sullivan created a poisonous work atmosphere, belittling and disrespecting ladies to the purpose that she actively sought to keep away from him till one evening in early 2017. Ms. Driscoll, 35, had joined her colleagues at a work-sponsored completely satisfied hour on the Blaguard, a bar in Washington’s Adams Morgan neighborhood, the place Mr. Sullivan started haranguing her about her intercourse life and his personal.
“I’ve all the time gotten rave opinions,” Ms. Driscoll recalled him saying that evening. “I understand how to pleasure a lady.”
Ms. Driscoll was in a position to pull herself away. She recalled going residence to inform her boyfriend, now her husband, concerning the encounter via tears, and he or she quickly instructed a good friend. However within the days earlier than the #MeToo motion, she anxious that Mr. Sullivan, who appeared to get alongside effectively with males within the workplace, would retaliate towards her and that he would finally face no penalties for his actions.
She mentioned she regretted not reporting the encounter sooner.
“I’ve all the time had this concern that he was nonetheless on the market, working in Democratic politics, making a ton of cash and, most significantly, persevering with to harass ladies,” Ms. Driscoll mentioned, explaining her determination to publicly describe her personal expertise. “And it’s all the time weighed on me.”
Ms. English, a graphic designer who labored beneath Ms. Driscoll, had her run-in with Mr. Sullivan a number of months later. He had invited her and some colleagues for celebratory drinks at Mission, one other bar close to the group’s Dupont Circle workplace, after a profitable presentation to funders, she mentioned.