He’s a 65-year-old grandfather and former McDonald’s franchise owner-turned Capitol Hill Republican Congressman.
They were fresh-faced, 20-something female staffers with stars in their eyes.
Now, married father-of-two Republican Representative for North Carolina, Chuck Edwards, is the latest addition to a ballooning number of sexual misconduct allegations bursting through America’s halls of power.
Designer handbags. Jewellery. A personalised puzzle of comedian Adam Sandler. Tickets (for two) to watch the comedian perform live. A stay at the glitzy Las Vegas Bellagio Hotel.
And poetry.
A multi-page love note purportedly captures Edwards professing that one alleged mistress had “written a complex chapter in my heart”.
Edwards has called the allegations “horses**t”.
US media outlets claim to have verified that the contentious House Ethics Committee has authorised an investigation into reports of inappropriate relationships with two young female staff members.
The Committee has yet to publicly confirm the move.
America’s politicians are especially sensitive to such matters, and the accusations have attracted the attention of high-profile Congresswomen leading a crusade against Capitol Hill’s sexual proclivity.
South Carolina Republican Representative (and former Waffle House waitress) Nancy Mace this week urged the investigative body to “move swiftly”.
“We stand with those who came forward, and we expect the Ethics Committee to move swiftly and hold those who committed wrongdoing fully accountable,” Mace said in a statement.
“We have said it from the beginning, if you are abusing your power in Congress, it does not matter if you have an R or a D beside your name. There needs to be consequences for your actions.”
Due process
“You are the most amazing woman,” reads the alleged love letter, a copy of which news service Axios says it has seen.
“I only wish I could explain the joy and meaning to me for the time we spent together at the office — but especially away from it.”
Axios says it has three (unnamed) sources offering details of Edwards’ conduct towards the two female staffers.
CNN says it has confirmed the Ethics Committee has received the complaints.
“I have done nothing wrong,” Edwards insists, adding he has “no reason to resign”.
“In the mountains we have to shovel horses**t,” the Congressman told hometown news service, The Assembly, earlier this week
“In DC I have to deal with horses**t. And these allegations are more horses**t.”
Edwards has been married to his wife Teresa since 1980. They have two children and two grandchildren.
US federal politicians are prohibited from engaging in sexual relationships with members of their personal staff. But not those of other officials.
Otherwise, sex outside an established marriage is generally considered adultery. A breach of trust.
“I’m not going to debate these issues in trashy tabloids,” Edwards told The Assembly.
But the allegations are unusually specific.
And the bipartisan group of Congresswomen campaigning to tackle sexual misconduct claims on Capitol Hill has already seen resignations. Public pressure has forced California Democrat Representative Eric Swalwell and former Texas Republican Representative Tony Gonzales to resign.
Both denied the allegations.
“Today was an important turning point,” said Democrat New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at the time of the resignations.
“That it should — that abuse of power — should never be accepted, and above all, in public office. And so, I think this is an important resetting point for the institution.”
Bipartisan response
Earlier this year, the campaigning group of Congresswomen led by Representative Mace attempted to force a vote on House Resolution 1072, which called for the release of all sexual misconduct and harassment reports involving its members.
The response was a rare display of bipartisanship in Washington DC.
A clear majority of both Republicans and Democrats rejected the motion.
And on March 4, the House voted to refer the motion to the House Ethics Committee, which was asked to assess its own performance.
It recommended against the idea, stating it would scare away witnesses and complainants:
“[Women] may be retraumatised by public disclosures of interim work product, excerpts of interview transcripts, and certain exhibits. And witnesses, who often only speak to the Committee confidentially or on condition of future anonymity, could fear retaliation if their co-operation is made public”.
Mace was highly critical of the decision.
On Monday, she released the names of nine members of Congress who accessed taxpayer funds to pay for sexual harassment settlements. Swalwell, Gonzales and Edwards were not named in the list. All records of those instances before 2004 have reportedly been destroyed.
Meanwhile, the public airing of Congress’s salacious scandals continues.
“We welcome the ethics inquiry because it allows for facts to be entered into the record, not public allegations designed to drive media interests,” Edwards said in a Wednesday statement.
His name is now sitting alongside that of Republican Representative Cory Mills.
Mills is facing an ethics investigation into allegations of violence and sexual misconduct against an ex-girlfriend. He strongly denies the accusations.
“Accountability can happen. We can hold men accountable…and we’re going to do more of it,” said Democrat New Mexico Representative Teresa Leger Fernández.
Jamie Seidel is a freelance writer
