By JOHN MORITZ
STAR-TELEGRAM AUSTIN BUREAU
David Harris, a Democratic candidate for a North Texas congressional seat, is under investigation by the military amid allegations that he carried on a three-year affair with an enlisted soldier under his command in the Army Reserve.
Harris, an Iraqi war veteran challenging 11-term Republican Rep. Joe Barton of Arlington, is accused of "conduct unbecoming an officer" for maintaining a "close and continuing relationship" with a female Army sergeant from 2003 though 2005, a military investigator said.
Military regulations forbid such relationships.
Maj. Frank Torres, the Army Reserve officer who investigated the allegations, said military officials are still deciding whether to proceed with a court-martial against Harris, who is a major. The complaint that sparked the investigation was filed by Jennifer Vaughan, 33, of Arlington, who was demoted by her commander after she acknowledged that she had an affair.
Harris, a former ROTC instructor at the University of Texas at Arlington, declined to discuss the matter. But when reports of the inquiry surfaced on several political Web logs, Harris and his campaign suggested that they were being spread by the Barton campaign.
"While I have made mistakes in my marriage and personal life, I remain committed to my relationship, my family and moving forward together," Harris, a 35-year-old father of two, wrote on his campaign Web page. "These personal attacks against me are an all-time low for the persons responsible for them. ...
"I will not engage in a campaign of negativity and I will not tolerate attacks against my family," he added. "Everyone makes mistakes, no one is perfect. I believe that the voters understand that."
A spokesman for Barton said the Republican lawmaker's campaign has made no attempt to publicize the matter.
"We're just not going to go there," said Craig Murphy, the congressman's political consultant. Barton's 6th District includes Arlington and south Tarrant County and extends southeast to Trinity County.
Vaughan transferred from the Army Reserve to the Air Force Reserve after returning from Iraq. She said she lodged a complaint because she was demoted in her new assignment from staff sergeant to senior airman while no action was being contemplated against Harris.
Her supervisors in the Air Force Reserve had already been alerted to the affair, but they had no authority over Harris.
"Why do I, as an enlisted person, have to lose a stripe over this while nothing happens to the officer?" Vaughan, who served as Harris' driver in Iraq, told the Star-Telegram. "I'm doing it because I have been treated so bad as an enlisted [person]. And as an officer, he's getting away with it, and now he's running for Congress."
Vaughan said that she and Harris ended their relationship in 2005. She turned over e-mail correspondence between her and Harris to Army investigators. She also provided copies to the Star-Telegram.
Vaughan has also sent a letter to Barton seeking his office's help to transfer to another Air Force Reserve unit. Murphy said Barton's office forwarded the letter to U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison to avoid any appearance of partisan politics. Hutchison's spokeswoman said the senator typically does not discuss correspondence with constituents.
Torres, the Army investigator, said he interviewed Harris and "a dozen or so witnesses" during his six-week inquiry and found nothing to contradict Vaughan's assertions about her relationship with Harris. Torres declined to discuss the specifics, saying only that his report has been turned over to his superiors.
"All I can say is that I did a thorough investigation into the allegations," Torres said. "This is something the military takes very seriously. The military has very specific guidelines as it relates to relationships between officers and enlisted personnel."
Harris, who enlisted in the Army in 1992 and became an officer two years later, became active in the veterans-for-peace movement after returning from Iraq in 2005.
The Uniform Code of Military Justice leaves punishment for conduct unbecoming an officer up to the court-martial.
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