House Censures Congressman Accused of Breaking Rules Around Sexual Harassment After Gifting Guns, Jewelry, Trips to Young Female Staffers

The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to censure Congressman Chuck Edwards following publication of a House Ethics Committee report that accused the North Carolina Republican of breaking the chamber’s rules around sexual harassment. Mr. Edwards has admitted to gifting numerous items to young female staffers, writing a poem for one young woman, and taking women on trips that did not entirely cover official government business. On Tuesday, the House voted by a margin of 413 to two on a resolution censuring Mr. Edwards for his behavior. Only one Republican lawmaker voted with Mr. Edwards against the resolution. “The Committee found no sexual activity, no proposition, no quid pro quo, and no violation of federal sexual-harassment law. It then crossed the gap between those facts and a finding of sexual harassment through inference,” Mr. Edwards said in a statement after the vote. “I believe that conclusion was wrong yesterday, I believe it is wrong today, and a vote does not make it right.”“Sexual harassment is serious. It should be treated seriously. But that seriousness is precisely why we should not redefine ordinary acts of friendship, generosity, encouragement, or compassion as something they were not,” he continued.Mr. Edwards was not accused of making sexual advances toward anyone, though the Ethics Committee found that his attempts to get unusually close to young female aides violated the spirit of the chamber’s rules of conduct. The committee voted unanimously to approve the report and recommend that Mr. Edwards be censured. “The Report includes the findings of the Committee in this matter, along with the responsive views of Representative Edwards. At the completion of its investigation, the Committee concluded there was substantial reason to believe Representative Edwards violated House Rules related to sexual harassment and hostile workplaces,” reads the committee’s report. Committee members alleged that Mr. Edwards “engaged in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers” which would “lead a reasonable observer to interpret” that Mr. Edwards was harassing those staffers. The committee says Mr. Edwards invited the women “to intimate dinners and vacations,” sent “notes regarding his effusive affection,” and invited them to “other activities as a way to spend time together.” “Representative Edwards was at minimum blind to that reality, and at worst, dismissive of the impact his inappropriate conduct had on the careers and wellbeing of two women on his staff,” the report found. Mr. Edwards offered multiple gifts to two young women, both of whom were under the age of 20 when they first met then-state Senator Edwards. One eventually moved to Washington, D.C., to work for him in his Capitol Hill office, while the other remained in North Carolina and worked in his congressional district satellite office. Neither woman is named in the report. According to the Ethics Committee, Mr. Edwards’ gifts to the two women included “jewelry totaling over $1,000, designer purses, guns, shoes, flowers, a laptop and cell phone, KitchenAid mixer, robotic vacuum, vacations, tickets to performances, and one-on-one dinners.” One of the women who had received a necklace from Mr. Edwards told the committee that after she stopped wearing the necklace in the office, “he made a comment about … how disappointed he is that I’m not willing to wear” the jewelry.Mr. Edwards announced that he would abandon his re-election campaign after the Ethics Committee released its August 3rd report on his behavior. His district, which President Trump won by double digits, is seen as a potential pickup opportunity for Democrats.

House Censures Congressman Accused of Breaking Rules Around Sexual Harassment After Gifting Guns, Jewelry, Trips to Young Female Staffers

House Censures Congressman Accused of Breaking Rules Around Sexual Harassment After Gifting Guns, Jewelry, Trips to Young Female Staffers

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