New probe launched into married GOP lawmaker accused of sex harassment

The House Ethics Committee confirmed on Thursday that it's launching an investigation into an embattled Republican congressman accused of sexual harassment.

Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) will have to face a review of allegations that he "created or fostered a hostile work environment and engaged in sexual harassment," according to a statement by the Ethics Committee.

Earlier this month, Axios broke the story that Edwards, 65 and married since 1980, gave personal gifts and vacations to two female staffers in their 20s. He's also been accused of having a long-term affair with his former deputy chief of staff, and recent reporting details how he choked up and became tearful while reading a poem he had written for a departing staffer at her office-wide going-away party — an unusually elaborate send-off that sources told Axios made the rest of the office deeply uncomfortable.

The investigation into Edwards comes amid a broader wave of ethics cases roiling Capitol Hill. Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Tony Gonzales (R-TX) both resigned earlier this year following separate sexual misconduct allegations and Ethics Committee probes.

Edwards, who represents most of western North Carolina and is already facing a competitive midterm race, has denied any wrongdoing.

“I think you’re gonna find that when Ethics completes their investigation that the facts will have caught up with all the gossip and the rumor,” he told CNN on Tuesday.