Embattled GOP Rep Begs Colleagues Not To Punish Him Over Harassment Allegations

Republican North Carolina Rep. Chuck Edwards sent a letter to colleagues Thursday asking them not to censure him after an investigation concluded he engaged in inappropriate behavior.

The House Ethics Committee found on Aug. 3 that Edwards engaged in unprofessional and inappropriate behavior with two former female staffers and recommended that the House censure him. Edwards’ staff delivered “Dear Colleagues” letters to congressional offices arguing that the committee ignored key context when considering its findings, NOTUS first reported.

“I am asking you to distinguish between the conduct that someone, examining isolated excerpts after the fact, might consider unconventional and conduct that actually establishes sexual harassment,” Edwards wrote in the letter. “That distinction is critical because of what the Committee did not find.”

Edwards argued there is no House rule preventing members and their staff from being friends, spending social time together or “genuinely and deeply caring about people with whom he has worked closely for years.” The committee’s report detailed how Edwards allegedly gave two female staffers “lavish and recurring gifts,” including more than $1,000 worth of jewelry, vacations, designer handbags and one-on-one dinners.

One of the staffers allegedly told a friend she felt “scared low-key” because she felt Edwards no longer viewed her as just a friend. The congressman arranged a surprise birthday performance for her and said it was “from a special someone.”

The pattern of conduct gave “the appearance of a sexual or romantic advance,” the report said.