Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., unloaded on the press Sunday, accusing journalists of falling for a smear and declaring that reporters crossed a line by amplifying allegations that she had sexual relationships with congressional staffers.
The Colorado Republican posted a fiery video to X after David Wheeler of American Muckrakers filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee accusing her of relationships with three current or former senior aides. Boebert has flatly denied the allegations.
“Hey journalists, now that I’m finished with my more important task of the day, I have a few words for you,” Boebert began. She charged that the media “ran a smear and called it news,” claiming a “sloppy, desperate, obsessive hack” stamped “under oath” on a fake filing so outlets would put “penalty of perjury” in their headlines.
“It’s a scam and you fell for it,” she said.
Boebert argued that no member of Congress certified in writing that the complaint was made in good faith and warrants review, as Ethics requires. She also said reporters never bothered to look up committee rules barring the panel from accepting a complaint filed within 60 days of an election.
House Ethics Committee procedures do state that information submitted as a complaint by someone who is not a House member requires a member to certify in writing that it was submitted in good faith and warrants committee review. The rules also say the committee “shall not accept” a complaint submitted within 60 days of an election in which the subject is a candidate.
“Ethics isn’t even allowed to accept this garbage,” Boebert said.
The complaint, filed Sept. 17, alleges Boebert had sexual relationships with Clarice Navarro, Raven Finegan and Jeffrey Small. It also includes an allegation involving a roughly $200,000 payment after Navarro left Boebert’s office. Navarro has called the allegations involving her “entirely false, defamatory, and beyond ridiculous.”
The congresswoman also took aim at other media outlets, saying they were “more than willing” to report the claims while nobody in those newsrooms checked the rule before printing her team’s names. Their photos are now everywhere, she said, and her staffers are under attack because of the media’s laziness.
Boebert argued that the coverage exposed her staff to abuse and accused newsrooms of failing to scrutinize Wheeler’s history of making allegations against her.
“I know that you’re more than willing to attack me and shame my household, but this is different and you crossed a line,” she said. “I hope you think about the impact that this could have on them and their families the next time you rush to print without doing a little bit of research.”
The Colorado Times Recorder reported that this is not the first time Wheeler has made claims about Boebert based on anonymous sources. The outlet pointed to a 2022 claim in which he said Boebert had worked as a paid escort.
Boebert said she will keep serving Colorado’s fourth district while the press thinks about how to do its job better.
“I hate to spoil the fan fiction, but y’all need to do better,” Boebert concluded. “To the rest of y’all, no, I’m not hiring.”
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