The family of U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) is facing a storm of controversy after a lawsuit alleged that the senator’s children relentlessly harassed their mother’s personal assistant, Brandon O’Brien, driving him to suicide. The lawsuit, filed by O’Brien’s widower, Thomas Maltezos, in Manhattan Supreme Court, paints a harrowing picture of bullying, homophobic taunts, and sexual harassment that allegedly began just months after O’Brien started working for Nancy Bass Wyden, the senator’s wife and owner of the iconic Strand Bookstore in New York City.
According to court documents and reporting from The New York Post, O’Brien, 35, began his role as an executive assistant in June 2022. His duties quickly expanded to include caring for the Wyden children, which involved driving them to school in New York City and supervising them during family trips to Disneyworld. What was supposed to be a routine job took a dark turn in September 2022. The lawsuit claims that the couple’s then-10-year-old daughter exposed herself to O’Brien, made “sexually explicit” comments, and asked probing questions about his “intimate life” during school drop-offs. Despite O’Brien’s discomfort and the seriousness of the behavior, Maltezos alleges that Bass Wyden took no action to address her daughter’s conduct.
The situation reportedly worsened with the involvement of the Wydens’ teenage son. As detailed in the lawsuit and corroborated by multiple outlets, including Daily Mail and New York Post, the boy hurled homophobic slurs at O’Brien, calling him “faggot” and “zest kitten.” He allegedly escalated the harassment by threatening that his football team “would rape him” and by physically throwing objects at O’Brien. In one particularly chaotic incident, Bass Wyden attempted to restrain her son by using mace, but inadvertently sprayed O’Brien as well, according to court papers. Some of these episodes reportedly unfolded in front of Maltezos and his mother during family trips to Disneyworld, leaving them both shocked and powerless.
Throughout this period, Maltezos claims that his husband’s mental health deteriorated under the strain of the abuse. O’Brien, described by Maltezos as someone who “made every space better with his quiet grace and unwavering loyalty,” began to feel increasingly isolated and distressed. The lawsuit asserts that Bass Wyden, rather than intervening to stop the harassment, remained passive as the situation spiraled.
O’Brien’s breaking point came in September 2024. After more than two years of employment, he resigned on September 30, citing unbearable working conditions. The following day, Bass Wyden filed a police report with the NYPD accusing O’Brien of stealing $650,000, mostly via credit card transactions. According to the lawsuit, Bass Wyden also hired a private investigator to probe into O’Brien’s personal and business affairs. By January 2025, she allegedly began spreading “false rumors” about O’Brien to industry contacts and professional colleagues, further damaging his reputation and prospects for future employment.
Maltezos claims that this campaign of defamation left O’Brien distraught and hopeless. In May 2025, just seven months after leaving his job, O’Brien died by suicide at the age of 35. Authorities ultimately dropped the theft case against him following his death. Maltezos publicly announced the loss in a heartfelt social media post, writing, “It is with a shattered heart that I announce my beloved husband … died by suicide. Brandon worked as an executive assistant and made every space better with his quiet grace and unwavering loyalty. I am completely heartbroken without him.”
Attorneys for Maltezos, Eric Baum and Reyna Lubin, issued a strong statement condemning the alleged actions of Bass Wyden and her children: “The allegations against the senator’s wife are shocking, disturbing, and cruel — no person should ever be subject to this level of harassment, much less in the workplace.”
Bass Wyden and her legal team have vigorously denied all allegations of wrongdoing. In a statement to The New York Post, a spokesperson for Bass Real Estate LLC called the lawsuit “baseless and deeply misguided” and “riddled with false accusations.” They further alleged that the suit was “a continued effort to deflect attention from O’Brien’s own serious misconduct, including a documented pattern of theft from those he once worked for.”
The public nature of the case has drawn attention to the apparent contrast between Senator Ron Wyden’s legislative record and the allegations facing his family. Wyden, 76, a Democrat who was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1981 and the Senate in 1996, has been a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ rights throughout his career. As reported by New York Post and Daily Mail, he was among the first U.S. Senate candidates to publicly support same-sex marriage in the 1990s and has recently introduced legislation to sanction foreign countries that violate the human rights of LGBTQI+ communities.
Senator Wyden and Bass Wyden, who married in 2005, have three children together. The family splits their time between Washington, D.C., Oregon, and New York City, where Bass Wyden manages the Strand Bookstore, a nearly century-old literary institution in Manhattan’s East Village. The senator’s two adult children from his previous marriage, including hedge fund investor Adam Wyden, have also drawn public interest, particularly after Adam criticized his father’s tax policies on social media in 2021.
The case has ignited debate about the responsibilities of public figures and their families, especially when private conduct appears to clash with public values. Some observers, as noted in New York Post reporting, see the case as a tragic example of how workplace harassment and family dysfunction can intersect with political life. Others, including Bass Wyden’s supporters, argue that the lawsuit is an opportunistic attack, pointing to the theft allegations and the subsequent police investigation as evidence of O’Brien’s alleged misconduct.
While the courts have yet to determine the merits of Maltezos’ claims, the lawsuit has already cast a long shadow over the Wyden family. The story has resonated far beyond New York and Oregon, prompting discussions about bullying, mental health, and accountability in households that wield significant public influence.
As the legal battle unfolds, the memory of Brandon O’Brien—and the questions his death raises about power, vulnerability, and justice—continue to haunt those involved. The senator’s family, once known primarily for their political and literary achievements, now finds themselves at the center of a deeply personal and public reckoning.
