Lauren Boebert Faces Explosive Staff-Affair and $200,000 Payment Allegations
Rep. Lauren Boebert is facing explosive new allegations involving sexual relationships with congressional staffers and an alleged $200,000 payment intended to keep one former employee from filing an ethics complaint.
Boebert says none of it is true.
The allegations come from a September 17 filing submitted to the House Committee on Ethics by David Wheeler, founder of the political group American Muckrakers.
Wheeler alleges that Boebert engaged in sexual relationships with three current or former members of her congressional staff: former district director Clarice Navarro Ratzlaff, district chief of staff Raven Finegan and former chief of staff Jeffrey Small.
Two of the three are women.
The most serious allegation centers on Ratzlaff.
According to Wheeler's filing, Boebert and Ratzlaff allegedly maintained a romantic and sexual relationship for several years. Wheeler further claims that after the relationship ended and Ratzlaff threatened to file an ethics complaint, a $200,000 payment was arranged for her in March 2025.
Those are serious allegations.
They are also, at this point, unproven.
Wheeler claims information supporting his accusations includes text messages, bank records, court documents and recorded conversations. But news organizations reporting on the allegations have not independently substantiated the central claims.
Boebert has categorically denied them.
“I have never had a sexual relationship or an inappropriate romantic relationship with any member of my staff—past or present,” Boebert said in a statement released by her congressional office.
She characterized the filing as a politically motivated attempt to manipulate the ethics process and generate sensational headlines.
Boebert also responded to widespread coverage focusing on the allegation that two of the alleged relationships involved women.
“I'm not a lesbian or bisexual,” Boebert said, while again denying ever being sexually involved with a staff member.
That distinction matters.
The legitimate congressional ethics question isn't Boebert's sexual orientation.
It is whether a member of Congress had sexual relationships with employees under her supervision.
House rules specifically prohibit members from engaging in sexual relationships with employees they supervise unless the individuals are married to each other. Consent does not eliminate that prohibition.
If Wheeler's allegations were eventually substantiated, that would therefore create a serious ethics issue regardless of whether the alleged employee was male or female.
But there is another significant reason to approach the accusations cautiously.
Ratzlaff herself has denied them.
“These allegations regarding me are entirely false, defamatory, and beyond ridiculous,” she told the Colorado Times Recorder, adding that there was “absolutely no truth” to the claim involving her.
The credibility of the person making the allegations is also part of the story.
Wheeler and American Muckrakers have pursued Boebert for years and have previously circulated sensational allegations about her. Some previous claims from the organization were challenged by subsequent reporting, something Boebert's office is now highlighting as evidence that the latest accusations should not be trusted.
Wheeler, meanwhile, says he stands behind the new allegations.
There is also an important difference between submitting allegations to the House Ethics Committee and the committee determining that those allegations are true.
At the time of publication, the committee has not publicly announced an investigation establishing misconduct by Boebert.
That leaves an unusually explosive political story in an equally unusual position.
A sworn filing accuses a sitting member of Congress of sexual relationships with three employees she supervised.
It alleges a $200,000 payment connected to keeping one alleged relationship quiet.
The person who submitted the allegations says evidence exists to support them.
Boebert says the entire story is fabricated.
One of the women at the center of the allegations says it is false and defamatory.
And the underlying evidence needed to settle those competing claims has not been made public or independently verified.
That may not produce the sensational conclusion spreading across social media.
But right now, it is where the facts end.
The allegations against Lauren Boebert are serious.
They deserve scrutiny.
They have not yet been proven.