Thomas Massie’s Ex Claims Congressman Offered Her Hush Money Payment

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

A former girlfriend of Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has accused him of offering a $5,000 hush money payment, the accusation dropping just days before Massie’s May 19 primary in Kentucky.

Axios’ Marc Caputo and Kate Santaliz spoke with Cynthia West’s about her new accusations against Massie, which the congressman’s campaign dismissed as a last-minute “dirty trick” in the campaign. West insisted she has not been in contact with President Donald Trump’s team or the campaign of Massie’s opponent, Ed Gallrein.

Massie finds himself in an increasingly expensive House race as he’s become one of the more vocal critics of the president on the right. West said she was motivated to come forward after seeing Massie as one of the loudest voices demanding transparency when it came to releasing files related to convicted child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.

“It really bothered me watching him with the Epstein Files because he’s sitting there talking about transparency and victims’ rights and having women be heard and he literally tried to silence me,” West said.

According to West, she and Massie began dating after he messaged her through X in August 2024. Massie reportedly arranged for West to get a job in the office of Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN), but she was let go after just six weeks.

She said she and Massie broke up in January 2025 after she claimed he became “emotionally abusive” because she did not want to “engage in behavior I wasn’t comfortable with.”

West has a wrongful termination complaint against Spartz, complaining about a toxic work environment. She was reportedly offered a $60,000 payment, but refused to sign an NDA attached to it.

A spokesperson for Spartz’s office told Axios that West had a probationary period that was not extended due to “unsatisfactory job performance.”

West claimed Massie offered her $5,000 cash to drop her complaint when she contacted him and said she’d be filing it.

“West said the money was half of the $10,000 he gave to her in an envelope of $100 bills when they first began dating as a surety for incidentals if West, a single mom, left her job to work for Spartz and needed the money,” the Axios report reads.

“You’re just one person. You’re not going to make a difference. Just walk away,” West claimed Massie told her after they met up and she returned the cash to him.

Massie did not directly comment on the matter when reached by the outlet, but his campaign released a statement, saying, “These last minute dirty tricks don’t merit a response. The trashy lies they’re putting out now demonstrate how desperate they are.”

West is currently running for a position on the school board in Okaloosa County, Florida.

“What kind of person would I be if I did this [by taking a settlement with an NDA] when I have the ability to teach the culture,” she said.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!