Rep. Lauren Boebert is facing a new controversy in Washington after a sworn complaint filed with the House Committee on Ethics accused the Colorado Republican of having sexual relationships with three employees who worked under her supervision.
The complaint, filed September 17, 2026, by David Wheeler of the political group American Muckrakers, alleges that Boebert had relationships with three current or former congressional staff members. It further alleges that approximately $200,000 was paid to one former staffer after that employee threatened to file an ethics complaint.
Those are serious allegations — but at this point, they remain allegations.
Boebert has categorically denied them. Her office has called the complaint politically motivated and said there is “no truth” to the accusations. One of the former staffers named in the complaint has also denied the claims.
The House Committee on Ethics has not announced any finding that Boebert committed wrongdoing.
Why the Allegations Matter
The issue isn't simply whether a member of Congress had consensual relationships.
House rules prohibit members of Congress from engaging in sexual relationships with employees who work under their supervision. The restriction exists because of the enormous imbalance of power between an elected member of Congress and an employee whose job, salary and career may depend upon that member.
If the allegations are substantiated, the conduct described in the complaint could therefore become an official congressional ethics matter.
The alleged $200,000 payment raises additional questions. The complaint claims the payment occurred after a former employee indicated that she intended to file an ethics complaint.
Again, no official investigation has established that such a payment was improper or that it was made for the purpose alleged in the complaint.
Boebert Has Been Here Before — At Least in the Headlines
The sexual nature of the latest controversy has inevitably revived memories of one of the strangest episodes of Boebert's congressional career.
In September 2023, Boebert and a male companion attended a performance of Beetlejuice at Denver's Buell Theatre.
They didn't make it through the show.
The pair were removed after complaints about disruptive behavior. Boebert was accused of vaping, using her phone, talking and singing during the performance.
Her campaign initially denied that she had been vaping.
Then the surveillance video came out.
The footage showed Boebert vaping inside the theater. It also captured intimate physical contact between Boebert and her companion while they sat in the audience, including the man touching Boebert's breasts and Boebert touching her companion in the crotch area.
The incident quickly became national news.
Boebert eventually apologized.
“The past few days have been difficult and humbling,” she said at the time, acknowledging that she had “fell short of my values.”
The episode wasn't merely embarrassing because of what happened inside the theater. Boebert had built a national political identity in part around conservative cultural and family-values issues, making the images particularly noteworthy to both supporters and critics.
From Theater Video to an Ethics Complaint
There is an important difference between the two episodes.
What happened at the Beetlejuice performance was captured on surveillance cameras and subsequently acknowledged by Boebert.
The accusations contained in the new ethics complaint have not been proven.
That distinction matters.
A complaint submitted to the House Ethics Committee is not a finding of guilt. It is an allegation asking congressional authorities to examine whether misconduct occurred.
Boebert says it did not.
The complainant says it did.
The Ethics Committee will determine whether there is sufficient basis to pursue the matter further.
But the latest controversy once again places Boebert's private conduct in the national spotlight — this time with potentially more serious consequences because the allegations concern people who allegedly worked directly for her.
For a member of Congress who has frequently inserted herself into America's battles over morality, sexuality and traditional values, the scrutiny is unlikely to disappear quickly.
Whether this becomes an actual congressional ethics case will depend not on the headlines, but on whether investigators can substantiate the extraordinary allegations contained in the complaint.