California candidates trade blows in key district, as Republican slams Dem over ‘MeToo’ court controversy

A California Republican congresswoman’s campaign is criticizing her Democratic attorney opponent of intentionally crafting a legal defense for a client that blamed victims for their alleged sexual harassment — and the challenger is hitting right back.

Rep. Michelle Steel, whose Democratic-leaning Orange County seat is considered a crucial hold for Republicans in November, is facing off with Derek Tran. 

Tran is an attorney and military veteran who recently defended a former employee of a warehouse market chain who was rebuffing accusations from two women.

In the case, plaintiff Luis Pacheco alleged he was wrongfully fired by a warehouse market in San Bernardino County after being accused of sexual harassment by two women with whom he had had "consensual relationships… and still on friendly terms," according to court documents.

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Pacheco claimed the market and other defendants conducted a "sham investigation and automatically terminated [him] because he was male."

"Plaintiff Pacheco was discriminated against for his gender due to the political climate and ‘Me Too’ movement. Plaintiff Pacheco believes Defendants automatically chose the females' side without considering his explanation of events because of his gender," documents read.

Lance Trover, a spokesperson for Steel, said Tran "based his campaign on protecting women, but chose the side of an alleged sexual abuser."

"Not as a defense attorney but in an effort to enrich his client and himself: Voters deserve an explanation from someone who wants to be their representative in Congress," he said.

In campaign advertisements and correspondence, the Steel campaign has used the "Me Too" references to criticize Tran’s legal defense formulation.

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However, Tran sold the firm partway through the litigation and the new leadership took over active cases, including Pacheco’s.

In a statement to the Orange County Register, Tom Feher — the current attorney of record on the case — said the California Superior Court has ruled Pacheco’s case has merit and will go to trial.

"[That is] despite the attempts of the corporation to deny our client access to justice. My job as workers’ rights attorney is to uphold the law and win justice for workers — it’s not about politics."

Tran’s camp, however, has responded by calling Steel the "last person" who should be criticizing others for treatment of victims — "like Derek Tran has spent his career fighting to do."

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"Michelle Steel puts corporations and political extremists ahead of women’s rights her entire career… Steel even voted against stronger protections for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault by opposing the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2021, and led efforts to ban abortion nationwide without exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the woman," a spokesperson for Tran’s campaign said.

In regard to the votes, Trover responded that Steel opposed a "partisan" Violence Against Women Act iteration, but supported ensuing compromise legislation.

The Cook PVI ranks Steel’s district as D+2, meaning she is one of a handful of Republicans defending seats in Democrat-majority districts. The district’s lines changed slightly after the 2020 census.

Recent polls depict the race as a dead heat.