HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A profane recording that allegedly includes the voice of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee was released ahead of Houston’s mayoral election.
has obtained the recording that’s believed to be a conversation from at least half a decade ago. Eyewitness News is taking a closer look at it but hasn’t independently authenticated the recording.
It allegedly includes Jackson Lee’s response to someone who didn’t have the information she was looking for. That person told her someone named Jerome had it.
“When I call Jerome, he’s going to be sitting up there like a fat a**, stupid idiot talking about what the f*** he doesn’t know. Both of y’all are f*** ups,” the person in the recording says.
Eyewitness News counted 17 curse words in the one-minute, 35-second copy of the recording.
In a statement to our partners at the Houston Chronicle, who first reported this, Jackson Lee’s mayoral campaign called it political, though they wouldn’t confirm or deny that it was her voice.
They also blamed conservative bloggers and backers of fellow mayoral candidate John Whitmire.
His campaign denied having anything to do with it, saying directly to in a statement: “To try to accuse our campaign of leaking it is just an attempt to take away attention from what is on the recording.”
Dr. Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University, had this to say about where it could have come from.
“It really doesn’t make sense for the Whitmire campaign to have released this,” Jones said. “He already was assured a spot in he runoff, and this kind of release is unlikely to keep her from the runoff. If we’re pointing fingers, I think it’s more likely to be a former or current staffer who simply wants to hurt the congresswoman.”
There have long been allegations that Jackson Lee treats her staff poorly. In 2019, reported that a former member of her staff filed a lawsuit that claimed Jackson Lee and her office mishandled a report of sexual assault.
reached out to Jackson Lee’s office and is still awaiting a response.
