Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) on Thursday claimed he’s being “blackmailed” over the recent death of a staff member with whom he reportedly had an affair.

But in an interview with HuffPost, Robert Barrera, an attorney representing the staffer’s family, called Gonzales’ blackmail claim “a last act of desperation of a politician who’s going down the toilet.”

Gonzales posted an image on social media of a message from Barrera discussing a $300,000 settlement in exchange for his client signing a non-disclosure agreement. Barrera represents the husband of Regina Santos-Aviles, who worked for Gonzales out of his district office in Uvalde and reportedly had an affair with him before she died in September after setting herself on fire.

“I WILL NOT BE BLACKMAILED,” Gonzales wrote. “Disgusting to see people profit politically and financially off a tragic death. The public should IMMEDIATELY have full access to the Uvalde Police report.”

Barrera said his client, Adrian Aviles, was offering to settle privately instead of filing a claim under the Congressional Accountability Act over his wife’s death. The law, which was updated in the Me Too era, gives employment and labor rights to legislative branch employees, including those who suffer sexual harassment and retaliation. Barrera said the letter was sent on Feb. 10, more than a week before the San Antonio Express-News reported Tuesday that another person who worked for Gonzales confirmed he’d had an affair with Aviles’ now-deceased wife.

Gonzales is using the letter to pretend he’s being blackmailed, Barrera said, when the truth is that he had an affair with a staffer and then stymied her career after word started getting around about the relationship last year. Barrera said he and his client wanted to keep things quiet, and that the affair only came to light this week because another unnamed former Gonzales staffer talked to the press.

“I’m just shocked that he is playing the victim, that somehow we’re the bad guy when he had an affair with a staffer subordinate, and which ultimately led to her emotional demise and death, and he’s the victim here,” Barrera said. “All Adrian ever wanted was for Tony to man up and accept responsibility for his conduct, and he still refuses to do that.”

Gonzales has maintained that he had no affair with Santos-Aviles, even after the Express-News reported it had obtained screenshots of texts in which Santos-Aviles described their romantic relationship. Aviles told the Express-News he and his wife had separated after he learned she’d cheated on him.

In a response to Gonzales’ post on Thursday, Aviles expressed disgust at the lawmaker’s demand for the release of the police report about his wife’s death.

“We chose to hold back the full police report and body cam footage for one reason only it shows my wife suffering severe burns in horrific detail,” Aviles wrote. “I will not allow that graphic material to become accessible to our 8 year old son in the future when he is old enough to search for or come across it.”

News about Gonzales’ apparent relationship with a staffer who then died by self-immolation broke this week, right at the start of early voting in the Republican primary election. Gonzales is facing Brandon Herrera, a gun-enthusiast YouTuber who nearly defeated him in the 2024 primary.

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