The House Ethics Committee recommended censuring Rep. Chuck Edwards on Monday, citing his alleged inappropriate relationships with staffers.
“The Committee concluded there was substantial reason to believe Representative Edwards violated House Rules related to sexual harassment and hostile workplaces,” the committee wrote in a press release about the North Carolina Republican.
The committee’s report found that Edwards “engaged in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers.” Edwards, 65, who has been married since 1980,has denied that the alleged conduct “was intended as a sexual or romantic advance.”
Edwards’ campaign said in a statement later Monday that, “The Committee findings completely exonerate Representative Edwards under the House rules governing sexual misconduct or harassment; they contradict the committee’s conclusion. They concluded that he neither engaged in sexual activity with nor explicitly propositioned any individual staff member.”
Trending
The congressman’s campaign added that Edwards is looking “forward to having his name cleared” because he “has brought no harm to others.”
Sources told NOTUS in May that the House Ethics Committee had launched an investigation into allegations that Edwards had an affair with a former staffer who left the office earlier this year. The staffer was Edwards’ former deputy chief of staff, and she was initially hired as a legislative assistant to Edwards when he was a state senator in 2021.
The committee issued a public request in April for anyone to report information about House members or staffers engaging in sexual misconduct.
“Shortly after that announcement, the Committee was informed of allegations regarding Representative Edwards’ conduct towards women in his office and began confidentially reviewing the allegations,” the committee wrote in its 25-page report.
Edwards was aware that his conduct toward the staffers had generated discussion and “rumors” in his office, according to the report.
“Representative Edwards also went beyond norms of professional behavior by giving both women lavish gifts,” the committee wrote. “Both women received numerous gifts from Representative Edwards, including jewelry totaling over $1,000, designer purses, guns, shoes, flowers, a laptop and cell phone, KitchenAid mixer, robotic vacuum, vacations, tickets to performances, and one-on-one dinners.”
One of the staffers said she felt “obligated to wear” a necklace Edwards gave her, and the congressman told her he was disappointed when she did not wear it.
The report catalogues instances of alleged inappropriate conduct with the staffers, including the congressman paying for spa treatments, discussing going to strip clubs in D.C. and directing one of the staffers not to notify Edwards’ scheduler about a dinner the pair had planned.
Edwards brought one of the staffers to a holiday event at the White House and told her he wanted the night to be “perfect.” The congressman allegedly pressured the staffer to continue the evening with him and asked her to travel to and from the event in his car with his driver.
Edwards told the committee he did not recall pressuring her that evening, but he acknowledged traveling with her to her home in Virginia because he “felt uncomfortable dumping a young lady on the street.”
The congressman skipped House votes to decorate a Christmas tree with one of the staffers, according to the committee. He also went to that same staffer’s house to “perform chores like yardwork, pick her up and drop her off for events and activities with his driver.”
The committee found that Edwards wrote poems for one of the staffers, “including one that he read at her going away party in the congressional office accompanied by a slideshow, during which he cried.” Multiple staffers testified to the committee that the incident made them feel uncomfortable, and Edwards said he recognized the discomfort among his staff.
A censure serves as a public condemnation of a congress member’s behavior. The committee will bring Edwards’ censure recommendation for a vote by the full House.
This is the first time the Ethics Committee has recommended censure since it took action against former Rep. Charles Rangel (D-New York) in 2010 over improper fundraising, financial disclosures and failing to pay taxes.
Edwards is running for reelection in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District against Democratic challenger Jamie Ager. The committee’s report complicates Edwards’ path to victory, as his party can only afford to lose a few seats to maintain control of the House.
“If a bipartisan ethics committee has acknowledged that there was some wrongdoing, I think it’s going to be problematic for his campaign,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) said Monday.
This story has been updated with more details from the Ethics Committee report and comments from Sen. Thom Tillis.
Author
Contributor
