A House panel investigating allegations that U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards sexually harassed two staffers says the lawmaker violated the chamber’s code of conduct in his treatment of the young women.
The House Ethics Committee on Monday released a 25-page report on the investigation that began in April and recommended that the chamber censure the North Carolina Republican.
“Representative Edwards engaged in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers,” the report states.
Edwards gave the two women “lavish gifts” such as jewelry and designer purses, sent them late-evening personal text messages and took them on trips, according to the report.
“Representative Edwards’ conduct was inappropriate and implicated the laws and rules prohibiting sexual harassment and unwanted advances by a Member towards a subordinate employee,” the report states.
The attention that began after Edwards took office in 2023 made the two women and other members of the legislative office staff uncomfortable, the report states.
The investigation found no evidence that Edwards engaged in sexual activity with or explicitly propositioned either employee. Neither one is still working for Edwards.
Paul Shumaker, spokesperson for Edwards, said the committee found that Edwards did not violate federal sexual harassment laws and disagrees with the panel’s determination.
“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,” Shumaker said in part in a statement Monday afternoon.
Edwards represents North Carolina’s 11th District, in the state’s mountain region.
The ethics committee, which has 10 members split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, reviewed almost 1,500 pages of evidence and conducted 16 interviews, including with Edwards.
“Despite the absence of an explicit proposition, a reasonable person could interpret Representative Edwards’ intimate and effusive attentions, where he prioritized the personal over the professional, as thinly veiled advances,” the report says.
The panel, which can recommend a fine, a rebuke or expulsion for ethics violations, urged the House to censure Edwards.
A censure registers the House’s deep disapproval of a lawmaker’s conduct that does not meet the threshold for expulsion.
The full House will have to vote before any censure would occur. Lawmakers are back in their home districts for almost the rest of the month, so that vote won’t happen for a few weeks at the earliest.
