North Carolina Congressman Chuck Edwards has dropped his bid for re-election after an ethics investigation recommended that he be censured over sexual harassment allegations.
Edwards’ announcement in a social media post on Wednesday came two days after a congressional committee concluded he had “engaged in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct” with two female employees.
The committee did not find evidence of sexual contact but issued a report detailing inappropriate comments and lavish gifts, including designer purses, vacations, dinners and guns.
Edwards, a Republican, has denied any wrongdoing, and the committee’s report does not amount to guilt.
Edwards said in his post on Wednesday that he intends to complete the remainder of his current term, which will end on 3 January.
“After much prayer, thoughtful reflection, and many conversations with my family, I have made the difficult decision to withdraw from my re-election campaign,” he wrote in the social media post released on Wednesday morning.
“This decision has not come easily,” Edwards, who has represented the western part of the state since 2023, said.
On Monday, the House Ethics Committee recommended the full House of Representatives vote to censure Edwards, saying its investigation found he violated the chamber’s code of conduct. A censure is a formal reprimand.
In its 25-page report, the committee said it found no evidence that Edwards engaged in sexual activity with or explicitly propositioned any of his staff. The report said he cooperated with the investigation, but noted that some “relevant messages” had been deleted from his phone.
One of the deleted messages – retrieved elsewhere – included a photograph of 30 different types of ice cream he allegedly had sent to one female staff member’s home, and her reply message that said “this seems a bit excessive”.
Edwards also went “beyond norms of professional behaviour” in purchasing a series of gifts costing over $1,000 (£742), including “jewelry totaling over $1,000, designer purses, guns, shoes, flowers, a laptop and cell phone, KitchenAid mixer, robotic vacuum, vacations, tickets to performances, and one-on-one dinners.”
He also paid for a female staffer to travel to New York City with a friend so the pair could see the play Hamilton after she had gone through a breakup.
The report said he also made repeated remarks about female appearances, saying that they looked “breathtaking” or commenting on one employee’s weight.
The committee concluded that Edwards’ actions failed “to adhere to the spirit of rules prohibiting sexual harassment of and unwanted advances to House staffers”.
The House Ethics Committee, which is bipartisan, said the congressman denied that any of his behaviour was intended as a sexual or romantic advance.
But it added that his “pattern of behaviour would lead a reasonable observer” to interpret his actions as sexual advances.
The BBC has contacted Edwards’ office for comment.
Edwards, a business owner, came to office after defeating Madison Cawthorn in the 2022 Republican primary. Cawthorn, who is currently seeking the Republican nomination for a House seat in Florida, had faced his own sexual misconduct allegations.
By BBC News
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