Former Staffer Who Leaked Dem Boss' Controversial Audio Dies of a Drug Overdose
A man who was mentioned on a leaked audio clip of Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas berating him and another staffer last fall died from a drug overdose, according to a news report.
The man, 36-year-old Jerome Brooks, was insulted by the congresswoman while working as a staffer for her doomed Houston mayoral bid last November.
The audio was leaked to numerous Houston media outlets, causing a headache for the 74-year-old’s campaign.
Brooks died days after he was called a “fat a** stupid idiot” by the Texas Democrat during her 15th term in the House.
KPRC-TV reported police in Austin began an investigation into Brooks’ death last year after he was found dead in a hotel in the city just days after the audio leak was published.
According to the outlet, Brooks met a man online and went to a hotel room with him. On the evening of Oct. 29, Brooks was seen drinking alcohol and taking pills.
He reportedly clutched his chest at one point and slumped over. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful and he died at the scene.
Police quickly eliminated homicide as a cause of death while awaiting the results of a toxicology report.
Last week, those results came in and showed a cocktail of drugs and alcohol in Brooks’ system, KPRC reported.
Hill County Chief Forensic Pathologist Satish Chundru ruled Brooks died from an accidental overdose after he combined alcohol with the street drug ecstasy and methamphetamine, according to the station.
It is not clear if the ecstasy, a common street name for MDMA, was laced with the meth or if the drug had been used separately.
An erectile dysfunction drug called sildenafil, similar to Viagra, was also found in his system.
Jackson Lee has not yet issued a statement on Brooks’ death. KPRC reported it had received a response that she was “traveling” when the outlet asked her office for comment.
It is believed Brooks was the man referenced in an expletive-laden rant Jackson Lee went on last fall two weeks before she lost her mayoral bid run.
On Oct. 20 last year, a male staffer leaked the roughly 90-second sound bite of her insulting him and Brooks.
“I don’t want you to do a g***** thing,” Jackson could be heard shouting on the clip when the staffer did not have information she had requested. “I want you to have f***ing brain.”
In a reference to Brooks, Jackson Lee said, “He only sitting up there like a fat a** stupid idiot talking about, uh, what the f***? He doesn’t know. OK? Both of y’all are f*** ups.”
“It’s the worst s*** that I could have ever had put together,” she continued. “Two g***** big a** children, f***ing idiots serve no g***** purpose.”
The congresswoman made other comments that were so demeaning and vulgar that The Western Journal has chosen not to publish them. The leaked audio clip can be heard in its entirety by clicking here.
Jackson Lee later issued a statement saying she regretted the clip was released but did not offer an apology, according to The Texas Tribune.
As published by the Tribune, the statement said:
“To anyone who has listened to this recording with concern, I am regretful and hope you will judge me not by something trotted out by a political opponent, that worked to exploit this, and backed by extreme Republican supporters on the very day that polls open, but from what I’ve delivered to Houstonians over my years of public service.”
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