Washington state GOP apologizes to Meinert accusers

The Washington State Republican Party released a statement on Wednesday apologizing to two women who accused Seattle nightlife entrepreneur David Meinert of sexual misconduct, including assault, this summer.

In August, the Washington GOP issued a statement from its Twitter account criticizing Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib, a Democrat, for his "involvement in [an] alleged sexual assault" after KUOW published a story detailing six additional allegations against Meinert.

Maria Leininger, the Meinert accuser whose allegation was referenced in the tweet, immediately demanded that the Republican party correct the record; Habib was the one who stopped her assault, she said.

"We were recently contacted by one of the victims, who felt our press release blurred multiple incidents together, and created a false impression of what occurred during the alleged assaults," the Washington GOP's Wednesday release read.

Leininger said she was in the backseat of an Uber SUV in November of 2015 with Meinert when he propositioned her and tried to push her head into his lap. Habib, who is blind, was in the row in front of her, she said.

Habib later told KUOW that he sensed something may have been "off" in the backseat and texted Leininger to ask if she was alright. Leininger and Habib said that Meinert saw the text and backed off.

On August 21, nearly two weeks after KUOW published its second Meinert story, Washington State Democratic Party chair Tina Podlodowski accused the state GOP of maintaining silence on legislators accused of harassment. The Washington GOP then responded in a tweet criticizing Podlodowski for her silence on Habib's "involvement in the alleged sexual assault" by Meinert.

Leininger immediately demanded an apology from the Republican party.

Eryn Young, another woman who accused Meinert of sexual assault in the KUOW story, said she was livid.

The following day, the WSRP tweeted that it was criticizing Habib for accepting a political donation from Meinert.

But a month later, the state GOP issued a statement addressing Leininger and Young's concerns specifically.

"We apologize to the victims, Maria Leininger and Eryn Young, for any misimpression or confusion we caused. The incidents we wrote about were separate," the Wednesday release read.

When asked why the state GOP apologized this week, spokesperson Kyle Fisher offered that "the timing was right" and directed KUOW to the press release.