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The House Ethics Committee is recommending that Rep. Chuck Edwards be censured because of “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers.”
The committee has been investigating the North Carolina Republican for months and published its 20-page report on Monday.
The bipartisan committee said it did not find evidence that the congressman propositioned his staffers or engaged in sexual activity with them.
The report states that in his interview with the committee, Edwards asserted he understood “sexual harassment.”
“[He] seemed to believe that by avoiding inappropriate physical touch, explicitly sexual comments, and occasionally telling staffers that they were free to put up boundaries with him, he had immunized himself from such a charge,” the report reads. “That is not the case.”
The panel investigated allegations that Edwards, who took office in 2023, may have created a hostile work environment and engaged in sexual harassment.
In a statement, a spokesman for Edwards’ reelection campaign took issue with the panel’s report, alleging committee staff “has taken it upon themselves to write their own rules based upon an interpretation that is inconsistent with the written rule of law or House rules.”
“Representative Edwards looks forward to having his name cleared and will work to ensure that the full light of day is brought on this process and that every member of Congress and the public can see the attempt to harm the Congressman who has brought no harm to others,” said spokesman Paul Shumaker.
In a separate rebuttal to the committee’s report, lawyers for the congressman said the panel had failed to demonstrate that the staffers expressed their discomfort to Edwards.
“Representative Edwards has been denied the opportunity to challenge the factual allegations guaranteed to him under House rules,” they wrote. They also said the congressman “sincerely regrets that his behavior created discomfort” for either of the two staffers.
The investigation details his interactions with two young female staffers, including showering them with “lavish and recurrent gifts,” including jewelry totaling over $1,000, designer purses, guns, shoes, flowers, a laptop and cell phone, KitchenAid mixer, vacations and one-on-one-dinners.
The report also found that the congressman made comments regarding these staffers’ appearances, invited them to intimate dinners and vacations, and sent them notes “regarding his effusive affection.”
The report said both women attempted to communicate their discomfort with their boss’s behavior, and that ultimately, a senior staffer spoke to Edwards on their behalf.
That staffer testified that Edwards, 65, said she “didn’t understand the unique relationship” he had with them.
Edwards cooperated with the committee’s investigation, which included 16 witness interviews, including the congressman himself, and over 1,500 pages of evidence.
The committee voted to issue this report on July 22.
The House is currently on recess, so the censure itself would not take place until at least September. A censure is the strongest punishment the panel can recommend short of expulsion. It is tantamount to a public shaming on the House floor.
