Air Force General's Controversial Relationships on Capitol Hill: A Scandal Unveiled
A retired two-star general who led the Air Force’s legislative office had unprofessional, intimate relationships with five women, three of whom were working on Capitol Hill, according to an Air Force inspector general report.
Maj. Gen. Christopher Finerty violated military law by engaging in “sexual, inappropriate or unprofessional relationships” with multiple women, said the report, dated September 2023.
The Unveiling of Controversial Relationships
He had relationships with three women who he worked with on Capitol Hill and another two who were not associated with Congress, the report said. One was the wife of a fellow officer and the other was an Air Force enlisted member. All of the relationships violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the report found. The Air Force said he was demoted a rank.
Finerty, in testimony, referred to two of the Capitol Hill women as “not in anyone’s chain of command” and “not in the same branch of government,” as him.
All three are described in the report as people whose duties “directly affect the Air Force” and with whom Finerty interacted in his job. Finerty led Air Force interactions with Congress on the budget and other legislative priorities. He also prepped Air Force and Space Force leadership on testimony to lawmakers.
The document, which has not been previously reported, was posted Thursday on an Air Force website with heavy redactions.
The Impact of the Relationships
The major general’s relationships with the three Capitol Hill women consisted of sexting with two of them and sexting plus a “personally intimate” relationship with a third person, according to the report.
Finerty’s lawyer, David Thompson, said in an email that Finerty “adamantly denies that any aspect of his personal life hindered the mission of the Air Force in any way.”
Finerty left his role in March 2023, according to Ann Stefanek, an Air Force spokesperson. He was demoted to brigadier general, she said, and retired from the Air Force in November 2024.
His deputy then took over the role, Stefanek said, before being replaced by Maj. Gen. Jennifer Short in June 2023. The current legislative affairs director is Maj. Gen. Benjamin Maitre, although the Air Force website lists Finerty as still in that role.
The Fallout and Repercussions
Finerty’s behavior had the potential to erode trust between Congress and the Air Force, said one witness who had served or was serving in a military legislative liaison office at the time of the interview, according to the report.
“It could be viewed as the Air Force providing or having a venue to provide advanced notice of something,” such as giving advance notice of a basing announcement, the person said. No witnesses said they saw evidence of preferential treatment.
Finerty and one unidentified woman, in quoted text messages, talked about Air Force priorities before taking a sexual turn.
“To answer your cut drill question,” Finerty texted, “top 5 things to protect if possible: F35, Modernization, NGAD, JADC2/ABMS, 3DELRR (pretty sure this is a radar), F15EX.”
The unidentified woman then sent Finerty multiple “pornographic pictures,” according to the report, to which Finerty responded: “This whole no more sexting didn’t last long huh?”
Finerty, in testimony to the inspector general, raised the issue of having relationships with “members on the Hill,” and said he believed they were not forbidden.
The relationships soured some military legislative liaisons. “I honestly felt sick to my stomach….because it just felt so sleazy and inappropriate,” said one interviewee. Other witnesses described Finerty’s actions as “unprofessional.”
A member of the Air Force legislative liaison office described one of the relationships as “the worst kept secret” in the office.
In addition to the relationships with the three Capitol Hill women, Finerty had an affair with a woman married to a military officer in late 2022 and early 2023, and sent “sexually suggestive text messages” from 2018-2020 to an enlisted service member, according to the report. The service member described the relationship as mutual.
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