North Carolina congressman Edwards asks House colleagues not to censure him

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican North Carolina Rep. Chuck Edwards implored House colleagues to reconsider an Ethics Committee report that found he engaged in persistent, unprofessional and inappropriate conduct toward two female aides and recommended his censure.

Edwards' letter asks representatives to distinguish between unconventional conduct and sexual harassment.

"An affectionate friendship is not a sexual proposition. A gift is not sexual misconduct," he wrote. "A compliment is not sexual misconduct. Poetry is not sexual misconduct."

Edwards' letter, dated Tuesday, was first reported by the news outlet NOTUS.

The Ethics Committee on Thursday declined to comment in response to Edwards' letter.

The committee's report, which came nearly three months after it announced it was investigating Edwards, found that both women were uncomfortable with his behavior but found themselves in a difficult position because he was their boss and a member of Congress.

The report continued: "Rep. Edwards was at minimum blind to that reality, and at worst, dismissive of the impact his inappropriate conduct had on the careers and well-being of two women on his staff."

One aide worked for the congressman's office for about 2 1/2 years and the other for about three years. They no longer work there. The Ethics panel said the women left due to conduct described in its report, although they provided other explanations to Edwards at the time of their departures.

Edwards has denied that any of his conduct was intended as a sexual or romantic advance, but the committee said his behavior would "lead a reasonable observer to interpret it as such."

It also described his actions as "beyond inappropriate."

The report detailed numerous gifts that Edwards gave the two aides, calling the gifts "beyond norms of professional behavior." The women received jewelry totaling more than $1,000, designer purses, guns, shoes, flowers, a laptop and cellphone, as well as vacations, tickets to performances, and one-on-one dinners.

The committee earlier this month recommended censure, which registers the House's deep disapproval of a lawmaker's conduct that doesn't meet the threshold for expulsion.

Edwards, who was elected in 2022, dropped his reelection bid two days after the committee recommended he be censured.

The committee's investigation came at a time of heightened scrutiny of lawmakers' behavior toward female staffers following the resignations of Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales. Both faced calls for their expulsion before they stepped down.