A tale of two scandals plays out in Washington

WASHINGTON (CN) — A monthslong ethics reckoning in the halls of Congress engulfed lawmakers again this week, as Capitol Hill grappled with fresh accusations of domestic violence and sexual impropriety against a pair of Republican congressmen.But while the contents of a damning ethics investigation forced North Carolina Representative Chuck Edwards to cancel his reelection bid, Ohio Representative Max Miller — who has undertaken an aggressive public campaign against his ex-wife and her U.S. senator father — has so far evaded calls for accountability from House GOP leadership.The dichotomy between the two ethics scandals illustrates how Republican leadership, particularly in the House, has repeatedly opted for a wait-and-see approach to accusations of misconduct from members of its conference, even amid growing bipartisan calls for greater accountability in the halls of Congress.The House Ethics Committee on Monday released a report on Edwards, detailing what the nonpartisan panel called a “persistent” trend of unprofessional behavior and inappropriate conduct toward two young female staffers in his employ.According to the committee, the North Carolina Republican spent thousands of dollars on lavish gifts for the two women and on several occasions attempted to spend time with them outside of work, conduct the ethics panel said any reasonable person would interpret as efforts by Edwards to establish a romantic or sexual relationship with members of his staff.The Ethics Committee recommended Edwards be censured for his behavior but did not say he should be expelled from Congress. Still, calls grew this week for him to resign — and in an early-morning post on Wednesday he announced he would suspend his reelection campaign.In a brief statement, Edwards said he would complete his current term but did not address the accusations against him. “Serving Western North Carolina has been the honor of my life,” he wrote. “Thank you for your trust, prayers and support.”The congressman told the Ethics Committee he did not believe any of his advances toward his young staffers should be interpreted as romantic or sexual.But while Edwards was forced to face the music on his misconduct, his Ohio colleague Miller has remained unrepentant in the face of explosive domestic violence accusations — and so far, has yet to draw public ire from Republican leadership.Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, has accused the lawmaker of physically assaulting her and their daughter amid an ongoing custody battle. Those accusations, which Miller denies, have nonetheless been amped by Moreno’s father, Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno, who told reporters on Tuesday that his daughter “lives in constant fear” of the congressman and that the experience has been “truly the seventh level of hell” for him and his family.Speaking to CNN Tuesday night, Miller doubled down on his innocence, pointing to documents he’d released earlier this week which he said prove he never physically abused his ex-wife or daughter. “The allegations are incredibly troubling,” the lawmaker said. “But if they were true, I’d be in prison.”Miller, who has refused to end his own reelection campaign, added that he had received “more support than ever” and claimed House Speaker Mike Johnson was behind him amid the accusations.Johnson told Politico in an interview published Wednesday morning that he had not spoken with Miller, though he planned to. But he refused to make any definitive judgment about the congressman’s conduct, saying he would let things play out.“There’s all sorts of domestic events going on with 435 members of Congress all the time,” said Johnson, the House Republican leader and top lawmaker in the lower chamber. “It’s not my business to get engaged in it.”But he added that the accusations against Miller “don’t look good” for the congressman.Florida Representative Kat Cammack, chair of the congressional women’s caucus and one of the leading voices in the push for greater ethics accountability on Capitol Hill, told reporters the accusations against Miller are “deeply troubling” but he deserves due process.“This is clearly an evolving situation, with new allegations continuing to emerge, which is all the more reason to let the full process play out and follow the facts wherever they lead,” said Cammack, adding that her “heart especially breaks for the little girl caught in the middle.”It’s not the first time House Republican leadership has taken a cautious approach to accusations of misconduct against its members. Johnson has largely opted to steer clear of mounting ethic scandals in his chamber.The House speaker has already punted on the accusations against Miller, telling reporters during a news conference last month “the key word there is allegation.”“We have a process here,” said Johnson at the time. “The House Ethics Committee works on those things. If allegations are made, they work their process. I’m not in the business of commenting on investigations as they’re in process, and we’ll see how that shakes out.”The Ethics Committee was not investigating Miller at the time Johnson made those comments. But the panel on Tuesday said it had opened a probe into the congressman, after Miller himself requested it and argued an investigation would clear his name.The Democratic Women’s Caucus, meanwhile, said in a statement Wednesday the Ohio Republican should “immediately” resign, citing what they called “growing evidence and clear lack of remorse.”“The abuse perpetuated by Representative Max Miller against his wife and daughter is horrifying and now warrants immediate action by Congress,” wrote caucus chair Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez and vice chairs Representative Emilia Sykes and Representative Hillary Scholten. “The bizarre and unnerving actions he and his legal team have taken in the last few days, including releasing private images of his two-year-old daughter, are beyond explanation.”Miller’s team had to pull down the trove of documents it published over the weekend after lawyers for his ex-wife said the drop contained images of his young daughter that could be considered child sexual abuse material. The congressman’s attorney has since taken responsibility for what he called a “mistake” and apologized.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads