MAGA Rep. Gives Bonkers ‘Poetry’ Defense of Creepy Behavior

Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag A MAGA congressman pleaded for mercy from his colleagues over his poetic displays of affection toward two young female staffers.

North Carolina Rep.

Chuck Edwards penned a 22-page defense of his behavior after the House Ethics Committee determined there was “substantial evidence” to believe that he had sexually harassed two female staffers, according to NOTUS .

Edwards, 65, showered the two women with expensive gifts, wrote them lengthy personal letters, and invited them to join him on private dinners and lavish vacations, the committee wrote in a 25-page report released earlier this month.

Both women and other current and former staffers testified that Edwards gave the two women preferential treatment.

The allegations prompted the Republican congressman to abandon his re-election campaign a few days later, as the panel recommended censuring him after the investigation.

Before the full House has a chance to vote on his punishment, Edwards fired off a preemptive plea for help from his fellow lawmakers.

“Before voting for my censure I am asking you to do something both simple and important,” Edwards wrote in the letter , obtained by NOTUS.

“Look beyond the conclusion of the Ethics Committee’s report against me then examine the evidence and the extraordinary analytical leap required to reach that conclusion.” “An affectionate friendship is not a sexual proposition,” he continued.

“A gift is not sexual misconduct.

A compliment is not sexual misconduct.

Poetry is not sexual misconduct.” “Caring deeply about someone with whom you have worked and come to know for years is not sexual misconduct,” he added.

“Yet individual acts that were not themselves prohibited were gathered together, assigned the most damaging possible interpretation, and then used collectively to support a conclusion far more serious than the underlying evidence.” Edwards went on to explain that no rules prohibited House members from “being friends” with their staff, and that the gift-giving was not one-sided.

He described receiving a custom NFL jersey, whiskey glasses, a taxidermied animal, and custom throw blankets from his staffers, among other gifts.