SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas is prepared to aggressively fight a lawsuit filed by his ex-press secretary that claims he retaliated against her after she complained about allegedly politically corrupt activity between him and his brother, Rick Rivas.

Rivas addressed and denied the claims with Democrats in the State Assembly during a closed-door caucus meeting on Wednesday, multiple sources confirmed. Inside the meeting, the Assembly's Chief Administrative Officer, Lia Lopez, also talked about the allegations. The discussion was met with mixed reactions, with sources saying some lawmakers had questions while others were prepared to rally around their leader.

The lawsuit was filed by Cynthia Moreno, who served as Rivas' press secretary for a little more t

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