All posts tagged "chuck edwards"

Scandal-plagued Republican's abrupt exit has GOP analysts pulling their hair out: NYT

A Republican campaign has been left "scrambling" by the sudden departure of a scandal-plagued congressman, according to The New York Times.

North Carolina Republicans are stuck looking for a candidate who can replace Congressman Chuck Edwards, who dropped out of the race after a House Ethics Committee probe into allegations of harassing young female staffers, The New York Times reported. Edwards' campaign was already "spiraling" amid the allegations of misconduct, but local GOP chairs from North Carolina told The Times that they're in a tougher position now.

"There was already a lot of work to do," Jim Fulton, the Republican Party chair in Buncombe County, North Carolina, told The Times. "Now, there's a lot more."

Republicans in the 11th Congressional District are trying to beat Democratic candidate Jamie Ager after Edwards announced he was dropping out on Wednesday. According to The Times, the district has been "reliably red" for decades, but "Republicans are scrambling to find a candidate."

"I'm not sure who chooses to do this, and if they even have a shot at winning," Michele Woodhouse, a former GOP party chairwoman for the district, told The Times. "Which Republican is going to want to get in at this point? Can they win?"

According to The Times, several North Carolina legislators are considered possible replacements, but "no clear front-runner has emerged." Republicans involved in the process understand that "the road ahead would be steep," The Times added.

Edwards had $940,000 in his campaign coffers when he left, but Ager has been able to raise more than $3 million for his campaign, which leaves Republicans looking for a candidate with fundraising chops, The Times reported.

However, the candidate will have 12 weeks to campaign across a district that covers 16 mostly rural counties, The Times notes. Ager, the Democratic candidate, has "had over a year to meet the voters, to go out there and make his case," Grayson Barnette, Ager's campaign manager, said, noting the next Republican won't be able to do the same.

'Tidal forces' turning against Trump as scandals throw GOP 'off the rails': analysis

As President Donald Trump's unpopularity grows and Republicans face two serious scandals, an analyst signaled on Tuesday that the GOP could see "end of age vibes."

In analysis from Josh Marshall, the founder and editor-in-chief of Talking Points Memo, he described how the hegemony could end for the Republican Party. He recounted how something similar had happened in 2006 involving "lightly closeted" GOP lawmaker Mark Foley and "what we’d now call sexting with underage male pages in the House page program and was forced to resign."

And as the abuse allegations follow Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) and accusations of sexual harassment surround Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC), Marshall suggests that Republicans could be seeing the backlash come November, despite the difficulty in predicting the midterm election results.

"But the two cases capture the culture of impunity that has defined the last 20 months, as well as the way increasing disconnect between what is happening in Washington, D.C., where Trump is all powerful, and the rest of the country where tidal forces are visibly moving against him. They are functioning eerily as a stand-in for everything else and create this mood, this kind of palpable sign of a majority going off the rails."

But Democrats don't have any easy path ahead either, he explained, as the party faces "simultaneous rebellion against the national leadership."

"To some degree there is a matter of almost impossible expectations," Marshall wrote. "Trump’s blitzkrieg through the Constitution, the rule of law and the most essential elements of democratic self-government have been so grave it would be almost impossible for a party, for the moment locked out of power in all three branches government, to meet the expectations of those who oppose him. But that is at best only a partial and limited explanation. There’s simply been a persistent mood and signaling of business as usual that has put the present leaders of the party in Washington, D.C. at odds with the great bulk of their voters. And to a great degree the outcome of the midterm elections will depend on how these two simultaneous and related but distinct unfolding rebellions interact."

New probe launched into married GOP lawmaker accused of sex harassment

The House Ethics Committee confirmed on Thursday that it's launching an investigation into an embattled Republican congressman accused of sexual harassment.

Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) will have to face a review of allegations that he "created or fostered a hostile work environment and engaged in sexual harassment," according to a statement by the Ethics Committee.

Earlier this month, Axios broke the story that Edwards, 65 and married since 1980, gave personal gifts and vacations to two female staffers in their 20s. He's also been accused of having a long-term affair with his former deputy chief of staff, and recent reporting details how he choked up and became tearful while reading a poem he had written for a departing staffer at her office-wide going-away party — an unusually elaborate send-off that sources told Axios made the rest of the office deeply uncomfortable.

The investigation into Edwards comes amid a broader wave of ethics cases roiling Capitol Hill. Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Tony Gonzales (R-TX) both resigned earlier this year following separate sexual misconduct allegations and Ethics Committee probes.

Edwards, who represents most of western North Carolina and is already facing a competitive midterm race, has denied any wrongdoing.

“I think you’re gonna find that when Ethics completes their investigation that the facts will have caught up with all the gossip and the rumor,” he told CNN on Tuesday.

Glaring omissions called out in scandal-plagued Republican's defiant denial

A reporter called out omissions in a congressman's response to sexual harassment allegations after he failed to deny key details.

Axios congressional reporter Kate Santaliz noted that in a Tuesday article about Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC), he made glaring omissions in his denial of allegations he summed up as a "shovel of horses---."

"Nowhere in this story does Edwards deny sending a young female staffer a three-page handwritten letter telling her she had 'written a complex chapter in my heart,'" Santaliz wrote in an X post, referring to allegations she laid out in earlier reporting.

She added that Edwards didn't deny "giving gifts to two young female staffers, including jewelry, a designer bag, and even a custom puzzle to invite one to an Adam Sandler comedy show." Nor did the congressman refute allegations of "vacationing in Vegas at the Bellagio hotel during the government shutdown with one of those staffers," Santaliz wrote.

Santaliz ended by reminding her followers that "at least one of those staffers felt uncomfortable with his behavior."

Bizarre McDonald's ban report resurfaces as GOP rep faces new sex harassment probe

A GOP lawmaker's odd choice to ban protesters from six of his McDonald's franchises has resurfaced as he faces a House Ethics Committee investigation.

"A Republican congressman banning his own constituent from McDonald's for protesting his vote to cut SNAP benefits?" wrote Mother Jones national correspondent Tim Murphy on Thursday. "I'm not sure I've seen a more House Republican story than this."

Murphy was referring to Rep. Chuck Edwards, who is now under investigation for sexual harassment accusations, CNN reported on Thursday. That drew some attention to a story earlier from early April about Edwards' decision to ban North Carolina resident Leslie Boyd from the McDonald's franchises he owns.

According to reporting by the Assembly, Boyd and a group of protesters staged weekly protests outside of one of Edwards' franchises to denounce his vote in favor of cutting federal funding for SNAP benefits, which assist low-income households with buying food.

"We decided since Chuck Edwards voted to take food stamps and health care from people, we should vote to take money from him by boycotting his restaurants," Boyd told a local TV station about five months before she was banned.

The Assembly described the protests as "fairly low-key" and "sometimes someone would wear a Grinch or Ronald McDonald costume. Someone else might dress like Grimace."

After Boyd led a group of forty protesters into one of the congressman's McDonald's, she received a letter signed by Edwards' wife telling her that she is banned, according to the Assembly.

Boyd told the Assembly that not being able to eat at Edwards' McDonald's is “no skin off my nose" because she hasn't eaten at the fast food chain in 25 years.

New details emerge as Republican finds himself under investigation

New details have come to light about the ethics investigation into a GOP congressman.

CNN senior correspondents Annie Grayer and MJ Lee revealed on Thursday that a House Ethics Committee is opening an investigation into GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) over sexual harassment accusations.

"The committee was recently contacted by a witness, who described having witnessed improper behavior," CNN reported. "CNN could not immediately learn the precise nature of the improper behavior."

Axios broke the news about the investigation, but the reason behind it was undisclosed at the time. Edwards provided a statement.

“I welcome any investigation, given the professionalism my staff has demonstrated and my commitment to serving the people of Western NC," Edwards wrote. "Given the current political environment we are facing in our nation, it comes as no surprise that others with their own political agendas will attempt to raise false accusations in order to create news stories.”

The Ethics Committee has not commented.

'False accusations': GOP rep lashes out after House investigation revealed

A Republican lawmaker is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for unspecified allegations, according to a breaking report on Wednesday.

Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) responded on Thursday to news that he was under investigation, which Axios confirmed through a lawyer from the House Ethics Committee and aides who have worked with Edwards.

“I welcome any investigation given the professionalism my staff has demonstrated and my commitment to serving the people of Western NC," Edwards said in a statement. "Given the current political environment we are facing in our nation, it comes as no surprise that others, with their own political agendas, will attempt to raise false accusations in order to create news stories.”

According to Axios, the House Ethics Committee declined to comment.

While the focus of the probe hasn't been reported, Axios noted that "Democrats are working hard to unseat Edwards" in the midterms, and "an Ethics probe could damage the GOP lawmaker's reelection prospects" as the investigation can drag on for months or years.

Why big-time politicians are surrendering gobs of campaign cash to an unlikely source

More than 30 federal political candidates and party committees have together surrendered at least $160,000 worth of donor dollars to the U.S. Marshals Service in recent weeks, according to a Raw Story analysis of federal campaign records.

It’s an all-but-unprecedented relinquishing of precious campaign cash to a government agency best known for hunting down suspected criminals, and even veteran election officials say they’ve never seen anything quite like it in U.S. politics.

But this isn’t any routine situation: Most of these “disgorgements” stem from contributions made by executives of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, including former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Raw Story’s analysis indicates. And the Department of Justice is urging campaigns to give the money up.

“Based on our office's investigation, we have cause to believe these donations represent the proceeds of Bankman-Fried's crimes and accordingly are forfeitable under applicable provisions of the federal asset forfeiture statutes,” said a letter sent by the Department of Justice to a member of Congress’ campaign committee, which in turn shared its contents with Raw Story.

The letter continued, “It is the intent of this office to request any funds forfeited be made available to compensate the victims of Bankman-Fried's crimes pursuant to the Department of Justice's restoration and/or remission regulations."

Bankman-Fried faces 13 charges in federal court, including fraud, breaking campaign finance laws and violating the Foreign Corrupt Business Practices Act with an alleged $40 million bribe to Chinese authorities. The FBI on Thursday reportedly searched the home of FTX executive Ryan Salame, a frequent political donor. Salame has not been charged with a crime.

The largest amount sent to the U.S. Marshals came from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which received $36,500 from Nishad Singh, FTX’s former director of engineering, who pleaded guilty in February to six conspiracy charges. The DSCC did not respond to Raw Story’s request for comment.

The Republican National Committee received $25,000 from Salame, according to the FEC filing. The RNC declined to comment.

Raw Story’s review of the FEC filings indicated that of the political committees to unload money to the Marshals Service, Salame contributed to 15, Bankman-Fried to six and Singh to five.

It is highly unusual for the Marshals Service to involve itself in electoral politics generally, and it almost never collects money from political campaigns. Federal Election Commission records show it’s happened once during the past decade prior to the flurry of disgorgements during recent weeks. The Marshals Service does, however, list “seizing assets gained by illegal means and providing for the custody, management, and disposal of forfeited assets” among its responsibilities.

Campaigns typically send unwanted donor cash — particularly money from contributors who find themselves in legal jeopardy or public disrepute — to the U.S. Treasury, which generally absorbs it into the nation’s general fund.

Sending money to the Marshals Service is “a way for these political committees to resolve the situation, and then whatever they do with Sam Bankman-Fried, that's a whole other issue,” said Michael Toner, a partner at Wiley Rein and former Republican FEC chairman who served on the commission from 2002 to 2007. “It may be that the authorities have preferred the disgorgements go to the U.S. Marshals Service because obviously that's an arm of the federal government, and it would accomplish the same purpose as a disgorgement" to the U.S. Treasury.

“It appears this is related to the FTX case, and all inquiries are being referred to the USAO in the Southern District of New York,” Dave Oney, a spokesman for the Marshals Service, told Raw Story via email.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York did not respond to Raw Story’s requests for comment.

Emphasizing that she was speculating, Ann Ravel, a Democrat and former FEC chairwoman who served from 2013 to 2017, said, “I've never seen anything like this, and maybe they think because they can't rely on [campaign] people doing what they're supposed to do, that they need more active campaign finance enforcers.”

Raw Story contacted each political committee that disgorged money to the Marshals Service between January, when the phenomenon first began, and late March, when most disgorgements took place. Most committees did not respond to messages.

But the campaign of Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) indicated that Crenshaw didn’t need a push to return the $2,900 Salame contributed to Crenshaw for Congress on Oct. 10, 2022.

“Obviously the campaign didn’t know at the time that FTX was engaged in criminal activity,” said Sue Walden, Crenshaw for Congress’ political director, in a statement to Raw Story. “We were happy to oblige the Justice Department’s request.”

Among the political contributions that federal political committees have sent the U.S. Marshals:

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee — $36,500

Republican National Committee — $25,000

Former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse — $5,800

Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) — $5,800

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) Campaign Fund — $5,800

Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) — $5,800

Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) — $5,800

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) — $5,800

Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) — $2,900

Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN) — $2,900

Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) — $2,900

Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) — $2,900

Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) — $2,900

Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) — $2,900

Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA) — $2,900

Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) — $2,900

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) — $2,900

Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) — $2,900

Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) — $2,900

Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) — $2,900

Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI) — $2,900

Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) — $2,900

Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) — $2,900

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) Presidential Exploratory Committee — $2,900

Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL) — $2,900

Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) — $2,900

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) — $2,900

Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) — $2,900

Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) — $2,700

Athena Pac (Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor of Florida) — $2,500

Axne PAC (Democratic Rep. Cynthia Axne of Iowa) — $1,618