GOP Congressman Rejects Sexual Harassment Allegations in 22-Page Letter: ‘Poetry Is Not Sexual Misconduct’

(Makiya Seminera/AP photo)

Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards (NC) has tried to fend off allegations of sexual misconduct in a 22-page letter sent to colleagues, according to a Thursday report.

In it, the congressman denies numerous allegations that have popped up in recent months as he remains under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

“An affectionate friendship is not a sexual proposition. A gift is not sexual misconduct,” Edwards, 65, wrote in the lengthy letter obtained by NOTUS. “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.”

The piece by NOTUS reporters Reese Gorman and Oriana González noted that one of Edwards’ female staffers called him her “second dad.” He also claimed a witness testified to the House Ethics Panel that his relationship with one employee was that of a “father-daughter” and “mentor-mentee.”

A source told NOTUS that Edwards submitted the letter to members of Congress in various group chats.

The House Ethics Committee launched its investigation back in April. Axios’s Kate Santaliz reported that Edwards’ conduct toward at least two female staffers in their 20s violated “professional boundaries.”

In an  “uncomfortable” instance, Edwards was “choked up and became teary-eyed” as he read a poem he wrote for a staffer during her office farewell party. As he read, a slideshow of images of the congressman and the staffer played behind him.

In July, Santaliz reported that in 2024, Edwards gave two young female staffers “a personalized handgun” while they worked in his office, citing “two sources with direct knowledge of the gifts.”

In his letter, Edwards did not deny the gifts, but contended he also was generous with male staffers, at least one of whom also received a gun as a gift.

In August, Edwards announced he would not seek reelection amid the probe.

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