The House Ethics Committee found evidence that the GOP lawmaker, in one instance, sent an employee 30 different ice cream cartons just to “cheer (her) up.”
WASHINGTON – He planned helicopter rides and strip club visits. He sent 30 different types of ice cream. He did their housework and decorated Christmas trees. He bought them designer purses, guns and tickets to Broadway shows.
Congress is abuzz over Rep. Chuck Edwards’ alleged treatment toward two young female staffers. A 60-page report released this week by the House Ethics Committee contains eyebrow-raising accounts and text message exchanges that are unusually intimate, disturbing – and, in some cases, downright odd.
The North Carolina Republican has disputed the panel’s findings and denies any impropriety in his intraoffice relationships. None of the relevant staffers filed a formal complaint against him, and his lawyers say the committee bypassed typical procedures that would’ve allowed him to challenge certain evidence.
But the ethics panel concluded that Edwards put the women in “an untenable position” and that any “reasonable observer” would interpret his pattern of behavior as romantic or sexual in nature.
“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,” the committee’s report said.
In an extraordinary step, the panel recommended that Edwards’ colleagues in Congress censure him.
A censure vote won’t cost Edwards his job or strip him of any of his powers. But it would be an embarrassing rebuke, potentially ahead of the midterm elections, for both Edwards and the GOP more broadly. And it would come amid a larger, ongoing reckoning among lawmakers about ethics on Capitol Hill.
“This Report should not only hold Representative Edwards accountable for his poor judgment and unbecoming conduct,” the panel wrote in its Aug. 3 report, “but also serve as a caution to all Members that sexual harassment and discrimination will not be tolerated in the House.”
Helicopter rides and strip club plans
Edwards’ alleged behavior centers largely around his relationships with two young women in his office, one of whom first interned for him in the North Carolina state legislature when she was 19. The unnamed women are referred to as “Staffer 1” and “Staffer 2” in the ethics report.
Current and former staffers of Edwards’ office told the ethics panel they felt he treated the young women differently from other employees (Edwards said he didn’t). He wrote poems that made them uncomfortable and showered both of them with lavish gifts, the committee found. The gifts included jewelry totaling over $1,000 in value, designer purses, guns and shoes.
That wasn’t all. The panel said Edwards gave them “flowers, a laptop and cell phone, KitchenAid mixer, robotic vacuum, vacations, tickets to performances, and one-on-one dinners.” He paid for them to gamble and have spa trips.
He also paid for Staffer 2 and her friend to visit New York City after she had gone through a breakup, the committee found. The trip included tickets to the Broadway show “Hamilton,” according to the report. Edwards reportedly brought Staffer 1 on a trip to New York City, too, which included a planned helicopter ride, over his birthday.
In addition, the congressman talked to Staffer 1 about going to strip clubs in Washington, DC. And he went to Staffer 2’s house to perform chores like yardwork. He missed a House vote to help her decorate her Christmas tree.
In one message to Staffer 2, Edwards wrote: “You’re so fun to be with, so easy to talk to, and I love listening to you. By all means – let’s explore more of DC together. We seem to have a fondness for many of the same things. Even where we do not, I’ll enjoy the adventure alongside you!”
30 different types of ice cream
In a particularly odd scenario about two years ago, Edwards sent about 30 different types of ice cream to one of the young employees.
“I’m having a little something dropped off for you that I once heard might help cheer one up,” he wrote in a June 2024 text message to Staffer 2. “I hope it helps.”
She sent back a photo of the array of ice cream cartons on her kitchen counter, saying, “Thank you, but this seems a bit excessive,” to which he replied, “You looked like you needed a lot of cheering up! My heart was breaking seeing you like that.”
Edwards’ lawyers cite ‘personal friendship‘
In a 15-page response to the ethics committee’s findings, Edwards’ attorneys said the panel’s conclusions exonerated him under congressional rules governing sexual misconduct and harassment. They also pointed out that gifts for staffers aren’t entirely prohibited in Congress, particularly when “based on a personal friendship.”
The lawyers, Stanley M. Brand and Andrew D. Herman, argued that the ethics panel’s report is “replete with factual inferences and assertions that are either unsupported by the facts in the Report or are unsupported by the entire record.”
Zachary Schermele is the congressional correspondent for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.
