The House Ethics Committee is investigating allegations of sexual harassment against North Carolina Congressman Chuck Edwards, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The committee was recently contacted by a witness, who described having witnessed improper behavior, the sources said. CNN could not immediately learn the precise nature of the improper behavior, nor was it clear whether the committee had yet corroborated any of the allegations.
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Edwards told WRAL he believes the claims against him are politically motivated. National Democrats have targeted Edwards' district as one of their top targets nationwide to try to flip in the November midterms, WRAL reported earlier this year.
"I welcome any investigation, given the professionalism my staff has demonstrated and my commitment to serving the people of Western NC," Edwards said in a written statement. "Given the current political environment we are facing in our nation, it comes as no surprise that others with their own political agendas will attempt to raise false accusations in order to create news stories."
The ethics committee that would lead any investigation into Edwards or others facing similar accusations is made up of five Republicans and five Democrats; the committee declined to comment on whether it's investigating Edwards. The 10-member committee includes two of his fellow North Carolinians: Rep. Brad Knott (R-NC) and Rep. Deborah Ross (D-NC).
In recent weeks, the ethics committee has made a public push for anyone with allegations of member misconduct to come forward, as Capitol Hill is reckoning with how to police its own. Several members, Republicans and Democrats, have resigned in recent weeks amid various allegations of wrongdoing.
Ethics investigations can take weeks, months, or years, and the results are not always made public.
The Washington-based publication NOTUS reported last month that the committee had also investigated another local member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, a Charlotte Democrat. She was investigated in 2023 for possibly having an affair with a staff member, NOTUS reported last month. Adams, who is 79, told Charlotte-based WCNC that the investigation was shut down after finding no wrongdoing, which is why it hadn't previously been made public.
"Congresswoman Adams cooperated fully with the House Ethics Committee's review, which was thorough and detailed," she told WCNC. "The Committee closed the matter after finding no violation of any House Rules and, most importantly, no inappropriate or improper relationship."
Axios was first to report that the panel had opened a probe into Edwards, though the report did not specify that the allegations were of sexual harassment.
Axios reported that Edwards, who is 65 and married, bought gifts including jewelry and a purse for two young female staffers, took them to dinners, brought one to a White House Christmas party and vacationed with the other in Las Vegas. The reporting cited receipts and letters Edwards allegedly wrote, as well as three sources granted anonymity to discuss what they had witnessed. "Sources said Edwards' behavior crossed professional boundaries and created an uncomfortable work environment," Axios reported.
Edwards, a Republican from Hendersonville, represents most of western North Carolina in Congress. He unseated a fellow Republican, former Rep. Madison Cawthorn, in 2022. Cawthorn was also investigated by the House ethics committee for an inappropriate relationship with a staffer.
That investigation ultimately found no proof of an inappropriate relationship, although the committee did order Cawthorn to pay $15,000 after finding he had violated separate ethics rules against profiting from political office.
Cawthorn had urged people to invest in a cryptocurrency coin without disclosing that he had purchased shares under beneficial terms and could profit if more people bought in, WRAL reported at the time.
After the results of that investigation became public in late 2022 after Cawthorn had already lost that year's primary election to Edwards, a spokesman told WRAL that "Rep. Cawthorn thanks the committee for their thorough investigation and is pleased to note that the committee fully exonerated him of the false, malicious, and stupendously idiotic allegations of an improper relationship with staff members."