Mayor Alex Morse's Sexual Misconduct Allegations Tied to Political Hit

The leaders of the College Democrats at the University of Massachusetts Amherst College are accused of manufacturing an alleged sexual misconduct scandal against the challenger to the powerful leader of the House Ways and Means Committee. Copies of chats obtained by The Intercept appear to show Timothy Ennis and others conspiring to entrap congressional candidate and current Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse engaging in inappropriate relationships with college students, and then accused him in a letter when they could find no wrongdoing. Morse, who is challenging Representative Richard Neal at the ballot box, denies any wrongdoing.

"Numerous incidents over the course of several years have shown that it is no longer appropriate to encourage interaction between College Democrats and Alex Morse," read the letter obtained by The Daily Collegian.

The letter went on to allege that Morse regularly contacted students through dating apps, used College Democrat events to meet students, and finally, that Morse was engaging in sexual contact with students at the college where he taught at the time. Morse admitted in a letter to the Daily Collegian that he did have "consensual adult relationships, including some with college students" none of which he taught, and apologized if he made anyone "feel uncomfortable." He was adamant, though, that all his sexual encounters were consensual.

The chats and statements from other College Democrats obtained by The Intercept appear to show Ennis and others created profiles on dating apps to lure Morse into incriminating conversations which they would then use to damage his chances against Neal.

"This will sink his campaign," Ennis reportedly said of the plan. The logs also show Ennis was hoping to be rewarded for his actions.

"But I need a job, Neal will give me an internship." Ennis wrote, also admitting to being a "Neal Stan" in the chats.

Ennis appears to have teamed with Adam Abramson, who encouraged conversations with Morse over Instagram, screenshots of which he sent to Ennis. Abramson added "also don't mind me totally leading him on" in the screen shots of the conversation. The messages show no wrongdoing by Morse.

A spokesman for Neal denied any involvement with the apparent scheme. Neal, 71, is the chairman of the powerful House Ways & Means Committee, which has jurisdiction of tax and tariff laws, Social Security, unemployment benefits, and more. He has served as a representative for Massachusetts since 1989.

The College Democrats addressed the issue in an open letter posted to Twitter, where they denied Morse's sexuality, Neal's donation to the group, or any sort of "quid pro quo" with Neal or his campaign are "untrue."

The group's open letter responding to the issue was delivered three days before the chats were published in The Intercept, and did not directly address the allegations of entrapment.

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