北卡罗来纳州众议员爱德华兹请求同僚不要对其谴责

北卡罗来纳州共和党众议员查克·爱德华兹（Chuck Edwards）致信同僚，请求不要依据众议院伦理委员会的报告对他进行谴责1。该委员会认定他对两名女性助理存在持续、不专业且不当的行为，并建议予以谴责1。在委员会提出谴责建议两天后，爱德华兹放弃了连任竞选1。

委员会指出，爱德华兹的行为已超出职业规范，并导致两名分别在其办公室工作约两年半和三年的助理离职1。调查显示，这两名女性收到了总价值超过1000美元的珠宝、名牌手袋、枪支、鞋子、鲜花、笔记本电脑和手机，以及度假、演出门票和单独晚餐1。

爱德华兹否认其行为构成性骚扰或浪漫追求，并在信中辩称：“亲密的友谊不是性提议。礼物不是性不当行为。赞美不是性不当行为。诗歌不是性不当行为。”1 此外，委员会对爱德华兹的调查是在民主党众议员埃里克·斯沃尔韦尔（Eric Swalwell）和共和党众议员托尼·冈萨雷斯（Tony Gonzales）辞职之后进行的1。爱德华兹于2022年当选1。

North Carolina Republican Representative Chuck Edwards has written to his House colleagues, urging them not to censure him following a House Ethics Committee report that recommended the disciplinary action 1. The committee found that Edwards engaged in persistent, unprofessional, and inappropriate behavior toward two female aides, which ultimately led to their departure from his office 1. In response to the committee's recommendation, Edwards abandoned his reelection bid just two days after the censure was proposed 1. He was originally elected to Congress in 2022 1.

In his letter, Edwards denied that his actions amounted to sexual harassment or a romantic pursuit, arguing that his behavior did not cross the line into misconduct 1. "An affectionate friendship is not a sexual proposition. A gift is not sexual misconduct," he wrote, adding, "A compliment is not sexual misconduct. Poetry is not sexual misconduct." 1 However, the committee maintained that his conduct exceeded professional boundaries 1. According to the report, the two women—who worked for the congressman's office for approximately two and a half years and three years, respectively—received numerous gifts from Edwards 1. These gifts included jewelry valued at over $1,000, designer purses, firearms, shoes, flowers, a laptop, a cellphone, vacations, performance tickets, and one-on-one dinners 1.

The Ethics Committee launched its investigation into Edwards following the resignations of Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell and Republican Representative Tony Gonzales 1.