Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) is trying to salvage what is left of his reputation after sexual harassment allegations, even though he's already leaving Congress after the midterms.
According to NOTUS, the embattled congressman sent a 23-page letter to his colleagues defending himself after the House Ethics Committee found "substantial evidence" that he engaged in "persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers" — findings that led him to abandon his reelection bid while facing censure before he departs.
The alleged conduct detailed in the committee's report included lavish gifts such as jewelry worth over $1,000, designer purses, handguns, spa treatments, one-on-one dinners, a Las Vegas trip, and "skipping House votes to decorate a Christmas tree with a staffer."
The full House could vote on the censure resolution next month, which would require Edwards to stand in the chamber while it's read aloud.
In the letter, obtained by NOTUS, Edwards said the committee found "that I neither engaged in sexual activity with nor explicitly propositioned any individual staff member," and argued there's "no House rule prohibiting members and staff from being friends" or "spending social time together."
He complained, "Friendship is not misconduct. Generosity is not misconduct. Social interaction is not misconduct. Caring deeply about colleagues who have become important parts of your life is not misconduct."
He also pushed back on the harassment framing directly by asserting, "Conduct does not become sexual harassment merely because someone looking backward through thousands of pages can construct a theory under which it 'could be interpreted as romantic.'"
House rules bar members from romantic or sexual relationships with employees they directly supervise, and from "unwelcome sexual advances or conduct" toward any House employee, the report notes. Edwards noted he gave gifts to male staffers too — "olive oil, wine, cookware, rum, Kennedy Center tickets and even a handgun" — and claimed one female staffer called him her "second dad."
