Rep. Chuck Edwards, a Republican from North Carolina, faces a formal censure recommendation from the House Ethics Committee following months of investigation into his conduct.
The bipartisan committee published its 20-page report on Monday, citing “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers.”
The committee was careful to note it did not find evidence that Edwards propositioned his staffers or engaged in any sexual activity with them.
The report focuses on a pattern of behavior that investigators say created a hostile work environment, including the giving of lavish and recurrent gifts to the two young women.
Those gifts included jewelry totaling over $1,000, designer purses, guns, shoes, flowers, a laptop, a cell phone, a KitchenAid mixer, vacations, and one-on-one dinners.
Investigators also found that Edwards made repeated comments about the staffers’ appearances, invited them to intimate dinners and vacations, and sent notes “regarding his effusive affection.”
The report states that in his interview with the committee, Edwards asserted he understood what constituted “sexual harassment.”
According to the report, Edwards “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,” adding bluntly, “That is not the case.”
Both women attempted to communicate their discomfort with the congressman’s behavior, and a senior staffer eventually spoke to Edwards on their behalf.
That staffer testified that Edwards, 65, responded by saying she “didn’t understand the unique relationship” he had with the two staffers.
Edwards, who took office in 2023, cooperated with the committee’s investigation, which included 16 witness interviews, the congressman himself among them, and over 1,500 pages of evidence.
The committee voted to issue the report on July 22, and the panel has now formally recommended censure, the strongest punishment available short of expulsion from the House.
A censure amounts to a public shaming on the House floor, and because Congress is currently in recess, the formal proceeding cannot take place until at least September.
A spokesman for Edwards’ reelection campaign pushed back sharply, 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.”
Spokesman Paul Shumaker added, “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.”
In a separate rebuttal, lawyers for Edwards argued the panel failed to demonstrate the staffers expressed their discomfort directly to him, and that the congressman “sincerely regrets that his behavior created discomfort” for either of the two women.
