Woke OCDA candidate Pete Hardin caught red handed lying about sexual misconduct again

(ORANGE COUNTY, CA) – Woke OCDA candidate Pete Hardin was caught red handed lying about his history of sexual misconduct, again. Hardin has developed a clear pattern of dishonesty to accompany his well-documented pattern of inappropriate sexual misconduct.

Hardin’s most recent lie was called out by the Orange County Register on March 9 (“OCDA candidate Peter Hardin was warned about being seen as ‘womanizer’ while a prosecutor”):

“In an interview earlier this week with the Voice of OC, Hardin apparently denied being confronted with the specific allegations [of sexual misconduct] in the memo during the 2015 meeting. But, in his statement Wednesday to the Register, Hardin indicated that he understood why his supervisors held the meeting.”

A detailed account of Hardin’s inappropriate behavior and blatant dishonesty is provided below.

1. Hardin lied about being forced out of the military for sexual misconduct.
   • While Hardin admitted he was ultimately discharged for inappropriate sexual misconduct, he told the Orange County Register he did not resign to escape criminal prosecution, stating: “I did not resign in lieu of a court-martial.”
   • But according to Hardin’s former supervisors at the OCDA’s office: “[Hardin] was up front [during his background check] that he left the military, at least in part, due to possible criminal prosecution for adultery.”
2. Hardin lied about his knowledge of a memo detailing his problems with sexual misconduct at the OCDA’s office.
   • When Hardin was initially asked about the memo during an interview with Voice of OC on February 25, he stated unequivocally, “I was never told about this memo or these allegations.”
   • But according to a report on March 8, former Senior Assistant DA Jaime Coulter told the Voice of OC: “The contents of that memo were discussed with [Hardin] personally, face to face. I was present in the room.”
3. Hardin lied about being confronted by his supervisors at the OCDA’s office over his sexual misconduct.
   • When the Voice of OC asked Hardin about Coulter’s account of the meeting, which flatly contradicted his own, Hardin continued to falsely claim the meeting never took place: “I would not forget being confronted with allegations.”
   • But March 9, one day later, Hardin acknowledged that the meeting did in fact take place: “Ultimately, Ms. Contini and Mr. Coulter did what they’re supposed to do as managers whether these anonymous accusations were truth or fiction, and I applaud them.”
4. Hardin lied about being exonerated for sexual misconduct allegations.
   • Now that Hardin has been forced to admit he was confronted by supervisors about his sexual misconduct (after initially lying repeatedly), he is falsely claiming that he was he was exonerated: “the investigation into these anonymous allegations didn’t corroborate a single accusation and disproved the most lofty claims.”
   • But the memo about Hardin’s behavior states: “[There is] a pattern that appears to be developing that is clearly cause for concern”.
   • And according to Coulter, when Hardin was confronted directly about the allegations in the memo and had an opportunity to deny them: “[Hardin] did not contest the allegations. He listened to the information and gave the appearance of being contrite.”
5. Hardin lied about the reason he resigned from the OCDA’s office.
   • Hardin told the Voice of OC he resigned from the OCDA’s office to take a prestigious job at the US Attorney’s Office.
   • But according to Hardin’s former supervisor, Hardin took vacation time shortly after he was confronted about the sexual misconduct allegations (none of which he denied at the time), then immediately resigned: “[Hardin] was counseled pursuant to the memo. And then…he left shortly after that. Left the DA’s office.”
   • And according to the US Attorney’s website, the prestigious job Hardin left for (Special Assistant United State Attorney), was actually nothing more than an unpaid internship.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer released the following statement about Hardin’s misconduct and dishonesty:

“As the District Attorney, one of my most important jobs is to protect women from sexual predators, including women in my own office and in our courtrooms. I am calling on Pete Hardin to drop out of the race immediately for their sakes. Pete Hardin personally betrayed his oath to the District Attorney’s Office, and he has demonstrated he cannot be trusted. Men like Hardin, who seek to leverage significant imbalances of power to coerce women into having sex with them, are some of the biggest losers in our society. Hardin’s disturbing behavior is not a one off; it fits a repeated pattern that follows him everywhere he goes, including getting kicked out of the military for sexual misconduct. Hardin is dangerous, untrustworthy, and unfit for office – I am going to do everything in my power stop him in his tracks and protect Orange County.”

Art Pedroza Editor

Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

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