House censures Chuck Edwards over "sexual harassment" of staff

Rep.

Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) was censured by the House on Tuesday after the Ethics Committee found he failed "to adhere to the spirit of rules prohibiting sexual harassment of and unwanted advances to House staffers." Why it matters: The vote amounts to a remarkable bipartisan rebuke, with the GOP leadership team and the vast majority of Edwards' own party joining Democrats to impose one of the House's most serious punishments.

The Ethics Committee's findings follow Axios' reporting that Edwards singled out two young female staffers in their 20s for special attention that multiple sources described as inappropriate.

Every Democrat and all but two Republicans voted to censure Edwards, who abandoned his reelection campaign last month.

The last time the Ethics Committee recommended censure for a member was in 2010.

Driving the news : Edwards mounted a last-ditch campaign to save himself from censure, circulating a 22-page letter last week to lawmakers arguing that the committee made an "extraordinary leap" in determining that his conduct constituted sexual harassment.

On the floor ahead of the censure vote, he issued an apology: "I want to say something directly and publicly to the two women who have been at the center of all of this: I am sorry.

I'm sorry that my actions, my judgment, or the way that I expressed a friendship ever put either of you in an uncomfortable position." Though he added, "Regret is not an admission of sexual harassment." Edwards also apologized to his wife and family: "I'm deeply sorry that my judgment and my actions put you in a position where you had to endure embarrassment, hurt, public scrutiny, and questions that no wife should ever have to face." What they're saying: "The ethics committee was clear in their conclusion, and they investigated this.

They took it seriously, as they should, and now it's time for Congress to take action," Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) told Axios on Tuesday morning.

"The committee reviewed Representative Edwards' conduct and determined that he engaged in persistent, unprofessional, and inappropriate conduct with two young female staffers," Ethics Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.) said on the House floor Tuesday.

"While Representative Edwards denies that his conduct was intended to be sexual or romantic, his pattern of behavior would lead a reasonable person to interpret it as such." Catch up quick: The Ethics report's findings corroborated several anecdotes previously reported by Axios, including handwritten correspondence, personal gifts, drinking outings, and casino trips, and cited them as supporting evidence for its findings.