Rep. Chuck Edwards’s (R-N.C.) spokesman Paul Shumaker slammed the House Ethics Committee panel that cited him for inappropriate behavior following Edwards dropping his reelection bid for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District.
In an appearance on PBS’s “State Lines,” Shumaker called out his issues with the House Ethics report that resulted in Edwards’s drop from the election.
“First of all, there was never a forward complaint lodged against Congressman Edwards. It was taken off. The committee chose to do the work based upon anonymous news sources and news stories that had been generated,” Shumaker said.
The report on Edwards, released Monday, recommended he be formally censured by the full House because he had violated “the spirit” of the chamber’s rules against sexual harassment and unwanted advances.
The Ethics Committee continued in the report that Edwards’s behavior with “two young staffers, repeatedly over a sustained period, was beyond inappropriate.”
Shumaker disagreed with this assessment and stated the committee gave “less than an adequate amount of time” to Edwards’s legal team to respond to the allegations.
Edwards’s attorney did formally respond over the weekend to the report, saying the recommendation for censure was based on “vague standards requiring credible behavior and adherence to the spirit of the Rules of the House” rather than rules violating sexual misconduct.
“The committee had already been in the field, polling on this issue and looking for other alternatives. So, you have a process that’s driven totally by politics, not driven by due process,” Shumaker added.
Shumaker confirmed that Republican leadership had asked Edwards to step down by Tuesday following the allegations. Edwards announced early Wednesday on social platform X he would drop his reelection bid but would complete his current term in the House.
“After much prayer and reflection, I’ve decided to withdraw from my re-election campaign,” he wrote.
North Carolina Republicans have not announced his replacement that will appear on ballots in the general election.
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