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Ethics report details messages, gifts cited in Rep. Edwards censure recommendation
Exhibits from the House Committee on Ethics report provide a closer look at the evidence cited in its recommendation to censure Rep. Chuck Edwards, including text messages, handwritten notes and other communications with female staffers.
Exhibit 9 shows a December 2024 text message exchange between Rep. Edwards and a female staffer in which he suggested skipping votes to help her decorate her Christmas tree when she got home.
NORTH CAROLINA REP. CHUCK EDWARDS WITHDRAWS FROM RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Exhibit 15 shows a photograph of 30 ice cream containers, along with toppings, that Edwards sent to a female staffer to cheer her up, adding, "My heart was breaking seeing you like that."
Exhibit 17 includes a handwritten note signed by Edwards in which he told a female staffer, "While you have left my office, I deeply hope you are not leaving my life."
WHAT DOES REP. EDWARDS' EXIT MEAN FOR NORTH CAROLINA'S 11TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT RACE?
Exhibit 18 included a puzzle sent to one female staffer that, when put together, shows an Adam Sandler event and a personal note to join Rep. Edwards for dinner and the show.
Texts in Exhibit 19 show Edwards canceled a tele-town hall in October 2025 to meet a female staffer in Charlotte for dinner. The text messages show he planned to reschedule the town hall for the following week. Also in Exhibit 19, Edwards offered to arrange for a limo to pick up a female staffer in Las Vegas for a trip. The two texted about the possibility of seeing "The Wizard of Oz" at Sphere.
On Monday, Aug. 3, when the House Ethics Committee's report was released, a spokesperson for Edwards' campaign said the committee's findings "completely exonerate" the congressman because it concluded he did not engage in sexual activity or explicitly proposition any staff member. The campaign said Edwards, who was seeking reelection in November, looked forward to clearing his name.
By early Wednesday, Aug. 5, the congressman announced he was withdrawing from the race for North Carolina's 11th Congressional District.
Full Appendix A: