Conan Harris, who spent a decade in jail on felony drug trafficking charges, got himself into some trouble this week.
Harris, the husband of Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), was escorting his wife through city hall when a journalist dared to ask her a question.
Harris did not like the question, and he slapped the phone out of the journalist’s hands, which, in this day and age, would qualify as assault.
Having been convicted of a felony and then marrying a member of Congress will get you some headlines, and that is what Harris generated when he launched a re-entry program for former offenders.
Harris even testified before Congress about the initiative, telling the media, "Re-entry, as I talked about in the hearing, starts when you're incarcerated. It is so crucial and important to do the work internally while you're inside the institution before you come out.”
He continued, “When I came home, I had to be prepared and ready for the resources that my family and other supports would be able to help me with. I think that one of the main things that was supportive was finding a safe place to sleep, rest my head, so I could collect my thoughts."
Harris also owns a consulting firm called Conan Harris & Associates, with the website claiming, “We specialize in executive coaching, strategic planning, capacity building, and helping businesses and organizations diversify their pipeline of workforce leadership and personnel.”
Since Ayanna Pressley has been in office, her husband has been doing quite well for himself, as have the spouses of other members of the progressive "Squad."
Harris was earning more than $92,000 per year as public safety adviser before launching his firm, and that move paid off rather well for him over the last few years.
Pressley took office in 2019, and by 2021, Harris was earning about $350,000 per year via his consulting enterprise, and in 2022, he made more than $1 million.
The question, of course, is whether he is cashing in on his wife’s position and scooping up some of that government funding that everyone seems to be dipping into these days.
Harris is often seen by his wife’s side when she is moving about town, and that was the case this week when a reporter started to ask, "Congresswoman Pressley, do you support –"
The lawmaker's husband then slapped the phone out of the journalist’s hands, to which the reporter responded, "Sir, you cannot take my phone out of my hand.’
He did pick the phone back up, then continued his question, "Congresswoman Pressley, do you support President Trump investigating Somali childcare fraud in Minnesota?"
Let’s just pretend for a second that a Republican aide did this to a reporter, and then imagine the outrage that would be taking place right now. Yet, in this case, the incident barely made the news, and very few people are talking about it. Once again, the double standard is exposed.
