Ethics panel urges censure of Rep. Chuck Edwards over sexual harassment violation (axios.com)

The House Ethics Committee found Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) violated House Rules by "failing to adhere to the spirit of rules prohibiting sexual harassment of and unwanted advances to House staffers," according to a 25-page report released Monday. Why it matters: The bipartisan committee recommended that Edwards be censured after concluding he "violated the Code of Official Conduct by failing to act in a manner that reflects creditably upon the House." Edwards did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment on the Ethics Committee's findings. But Edwards' attorneys say the committee cleared him of sexual misconduct and quid pro quo harassment, arguing it improperly recommended censure based on vague House conduct standards rather than any direct violation of sexual harassment rules. The panel said it "intends to bring a privileged resolution for consideration and vote by the full House." The findings follow Axios' reporting that Edwards singled out two young female staffers in their 20s for special attention that multiple sources described as inappropriate. Edwards has denied wrongdoing in response to Axios' previous reporting about his alleged misconduct, telling The Assembly in May that the accusations were "horseshit." He told Axios on April 30 that he would "welcome any investigation." Edwards also maintained that he was cooperating with the Ethics Committee. Ethics first launched a probe into Edwards on May 14 over allegations of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment. Axios was first to report that the Ethics Committee was investigating Edwards. The report's findings confirmed several anecdotes previously reported by Axios, including handwritten correspondence, personal gifts, drinking outings, casino trips, and cited them as supporting evidence for its findings. Edwards wrote one staffer a flattering poem that he read aloud — while choking up and becoming teary-eyed — at her office-wide going-away party, Axios previously reported, and the Ethics Committee found. "Several staffers present testified that they felt uncomfortable, and Representative Edwards acknowledged in his own testimony that he could tell the staff felt uncomfortable," the report stated. Edwards acknowledged in his own testimony to the Ethics Committee that he could tell the staff felt uncomfortable, according to the report. He also told that staffer that she had "written a complex chapter in my heart" shortly before she was set to leave his office in a three-page handwritten letter previously reported by Axios. When asked by the Ethics Committee if this letter was meant to be romantic, Representative Edwards responded: "No . . . . It was only to imply that we had a relationship on so many different levels – on a congressional level, on a professional level, on a friendship level, on a helping-one-another-out-with-our-chores-and-responsibility level." Edwards gave the staffer a custom puzzle revealing an image of Adam Sandler with a handwritte