U.S. Rep. Edwards denies misconduct in plea to colleagues to avoid censure

U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, a Republican representing western North Carolina, is asking his colleagues to reject his censure after a U.S. House Ethics Committee report accused him of inappropriate conduct towards two young women working in his office. 

Edwards said in a 22-page letter Thursday that the committee made an “extraordinary analytical leap” in classifying his behavior as sexual harassment. 

The bipartisan House Ethics Committee found “substantial evidence” that Edwards created a “hostile work environment” through a pattern of “inappropriate actions” towards the two staffers, according to a press release from earlier this month. As a result, the panel recommended Edwards’ censure. 

In his letter, Edwards argued that his actions, which the committee claimed “could be interpreted as romantic,” do not amount to sexual harassment. 

“An affectionate friendship is not a sexual proposition. A gift is not sexual misconduct. A compliment is not sexual misconduct. Poetry is not sexual misconduct. Socializing with a colleague is not sexual misconduct. Caring deeply about someone with whom you have worked and come to know for years is not sexual misconduct,” Edwards wrote. 

In its report, the House Ethics Committee found Edwards gave the two young female staffers gifts including jewelry worth over $1,000 and “designer purses, guns, shoes, flowers, a laptop and cell phone, KitchenAid mixer, robotic vacuum, vacations, tickets to performances, and one-on-one dinners.” 

The panel also said he wrote one staffer a poem that he read aloud at her going-away party, which several staffers said made them feel uncomfortable. On another occasion, Edwards skipped a House vote to decorate a Christmas tree with a female staffer, according to the Ethics review.

Edwards said in his letter that his staffers have given him gifts such as a custom-made NFL jersey, bourbon and whiskey, a taxidermy animal, and a planned skydiving trip. He called out the Ethics Committee for only including one example of “reciprocal gift-giving” in its report. 

NCGOP selects Balkcom as NC-11 candidate after US Rep. Edwards’ withdrawal

“Instead, the report extensively discusses gifts I gave the women even though some of them predated our time in Congress and some of them were provided as job related tools,” he said.

The congressman gave members of his staff, both male and female, gifts such as wine, olive oil, rum, Kennedy Center tickets, and “even a handgun to a male staffer,” Edwards wrote in his letter.

“Those facts are directly relevant to whether gifts to these two women demonstrated romantic interest or reflected a broader pattern of generosity toward people with whom I worked closely,” he continued. 

The House is expected to vote on Edwards’ censure when it returns from recess on Aug. 31. 

Edwards, who has represented North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District since 2023, dropped his bid for reelection following the Ethics probe. His withdrawal left western North Carolina Republicans scrambling to find a replacement and his colleagues saying he made the right choice. 

The North Carolina Republican Party selected state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom of Henderson County to fill Edwards’ spot on the ballot against Democrat Jamie Ager. President Donald Trump endorsed Balkcom on Truth Social earlier this month.