WASHINGTON (AP) — An independent U.S. agency is denying claims that a former co-chairman, Rep. Alcee Hastings, made sexual advances toward a staff member and sought to retaliate when she refused. In a court filing Saturday, the Helsinki Commission disputed the sexual harassment allegations by Winsome Packer, the commission's staff representative in Vienna from 2008-2010 when Hastings, a Florida Democrat, was co-chairman. The commission's filing said that specific instances in which Hastings hugged Packer, gave her a music box or asked to see her apartment were out of general benevolence toward staff. *** Hastings' response to the complaint was expected...