PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact Gil Genn
(240) 314-7138
March 5, 2018
PUBLIC STATEMENT of GIL GENN
RELATING TO ALLEGATIONS ARISING OUT OF EVENTS AT CASTLEBAY ON
THE EVENING OF MARCH 1, 2018
Today, I wish to make the following public statement relating to Senator Cheryl
Kagan’s allegation against me, as was reported in both The Baltimore Sun and The
Washington Post on March 2, 2018:
I absolutely and categorically deny Senator Kagan’s allegation against me.
I absolutely and categorically condemn all forms of sexual harassment,
inappropriate touching, or any other form of offensive behavior toward anyone under any
circumstances, at any time. I do not condone or tolerate such offensive behavior.
I absolutely and categorically support the goals of the #MeToo movement. Women
should be empowered to speak out against all forms of sexual harassment, inappropriate
touching or other offensive behavior. We need a climate where no woman has to sit alone
in silence, fear reprisal or worry about jeopardizing her career if she speaks out against
sexual harassment, inappropriate touching or offensive behavior. There needs to be a
safe and effective venue for any woman who has been a victim of sexual harassment,
inappropriate touching or other offensive behavior where each woman’s complaint can
be heard and effectively remedied.
This is why I strongly support advancing the cause of the #MeToo movement in
Maryland with HB 1342 (Legislative Branch – Sexual Harassment), which is being heard
Monday, March 5 at 3PM. If I were still a legislator, I would co-sponsor it and vote for it.
But due process is also important. There needs to be a venue where all parties
have a full, fair, and impartial hearing. Most accusations have merit, and it takes courage
for the victim to come forward. But some are false, and real victims are hurt by the false
allegations of others. Senator Kagan’s allegation is completely false. I thus welcome a
fair and impartial inquiry by the State Ethics Commission to investigate her false
allegation.
As reported in The Baltimore Sun and The Washington Post on March 2, Senator
Kagan alleged that “Gil came over…and put his hand on my back and ran it down my
back to my tush.“ The newspapers were my only source of information about her
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 allegation. Although I have known Senator Kagan for over 30 years, she never said
anything to me that night or since about her allegation before she went to the Washington
Post and the Baltimore Sun to say she would “name names.” I absolutely and
categorically deny her allegation.
Here are the facts that I know with absolute certainty:
I attended the Legislative Karaoke Night at CastleBay the evening of March 1 with
my girlfriend, with whom I have had the great fortune of developing a strong, caring,
happy, fun, faithful, and monogamous relationship since we met in the Spring of last year.
I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize the joy that our relationship brings to us.
I saw Senator Kagan when I was leaving the reception. There were dozens of
people in the immediate vicinity walking by. It was crowded and noisy. I was carrying my
coat, umbrella and belongings when I left. I joked with her about the hearing on election
bills that morning. She laughed and introduced me to a former aide. I left. Our interaction
was all of ten seconds.
I kept my hands to myself. I didn’t even shake her hand. I did not run my hand
down her back or down to her tush. And I especially and consciously avoided the all too
common Annapolis legislative “hug” many legislators use to greet one another. I did none
of that in my very brief encounter with Senator Kagan. I am 100 percent certain of these
facts.
I do have one regret. On March 2, I was in my dentist’s office, injected with
xylocaine waiting for a filling procedure, during which time I received numerous texts and
messages from reporters. I told the dentist I had to leave the chair momentarily to
respond, I got up and spoke with The Baltimore Sun reporter and was confronted for the
first time with reports of Senator Kagan’s allegations. I was shocked and stunned.
Regrettably, I reacted viscerally in my shocked state of mind. In the heat of that moment,
I used the inartful word to describe Senator Kagan’s allegations as “delusional.” I wish I
did not use that term, and I wish I could retract it, and I apologize for it.
So, the only thing I can do now to rectify my wrong as best as I can is to issue this
public apology: Senator Kagan, I genuinely apologize for my inartful characterization of
your accusations as “delusional”. Perhaps, in the crowded and noisy bar at that moment,
you did indeed feel a person’s hand on your back and that hand running down your back
to your tush. To the extent you did, I swear to you it was absolutely not me. I also assure
you that I had, and have, absolutely no intention or interest whatsoever in touching you
in any manner whatsoever. None. I will continue to respect you in a professional context
only, and will continue to treat you with all the dignity you deserve.
Beyond the adverse consequence to me and my lobbying practice, these false
allegations also bring irreversible embarrassment and harm to my girlfriend, my two sons,
my mother, my extended family, my business partner, my professional clients, and to all

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 my other friends and colleagues. To all of you, I publicly say I am sorry. But I assure you
I did not commit the acts of which I have been accused.
I welcome the opportunity to prove that truth to you --- and to all others --- through
the due process of the complaint filed against me by Senator Kagan with the State Ethics
Commission. Until then, however, I hope you will at least give me the benefit of the doubt,
to which any person accused of any wrongdoing is otherwise entitled.
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