Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) could be censured when the House returns from its August recess, as a House Ethics Committee report revealed a slew of inappropriate actions the married congressman allegedly took toward female staffers.According to the report, Edwards invited young female staffers to dinner, gave them gifts, wrote them notes, and repeatedly tried to see them. Edwards’s campaign denied that any of the findings violate federal sexual harassment laws.“The Committee findings completely exonerate Representative Edwards under the House rules governing sexual misconduct or harassment; they contradict the committee’s conclusion,” Paul Shumaker, a spokesperson and strategist for Edwards’ campaign, said in a statement.
“They concluded that he neither engaged in sexual activity with nor explicitly propositioned any individual staff member,” Shumaker continued. “They concluded that the allegations in this matter do not implicate quid pro quo sexual harassment. They concluded he did not violate federal sexual harassment law.”The findings outline a multitude of advances the congressmen made toward two women whom he brought with him from his previous office in the North Carolina Senate, one of whom was still in college and identified as “Staffer 1.” Another, in her early 20s, was identified as “Staffer 2.”Throughout the investigation, Edwards claimed he would delete messages “at a whim,” when the committee asked where missing text messages in the investigation were.Here is some of the inappropriate conduct that could get Edwards censured: Gifts
