A sworn ethics complaint filed with the House Ethics Committee alleges Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) had sexual relationships with three members of her staff, claims that include allegations of taxpayer-funded bonuses and a six-figure payment to one staffer.
David B. Wheeler, founder of the activist group American Muckrakers, filed the complaint alleging Boebert carried on relationships with her district director Clarice Navarro, her current district chief of staff Raven Finegan, and her former chief of staff Jeffrey Small. Breitbart News reported that Boebert's office did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
The complaint, published through American Muckrakers, claims that sources "have direct knowledge of the relationship between Navarro and Boebert through text messages, bank records, court documents, and recorded conversations." None of those underlying documents have been independently verified or released publicly.
Every allegation in the complaint originates from Wheeler's group and remains unproven. No named witness has spoken on the record. Boebert has not responded. The House Ethics Committee has not publicly acknowledged the filing or indicated whether it will open an investigation.
Navarro served as Boebert's district director from January 2021 to January 2025, collecting $449,391.63 in total House pay over four years, the complaint states. Wheeler's filing also claims Navarro received $30,650 in year-end bonuses "paid from taxpayer funds in the fourth quarter of every single year of her employment." The complaint characterizes those bonuses as compensation "for the relationship, not for official work."
The most explosive financial allegation involves a $200,000 payment Navarro allegedly received "in or about March 2025", roughly two months after she left Boebert's office. The complaint claims Navarro told Boebert she intended to file an ethics complaint before the payment was made. American Muckrakers characterized the payment as an attempt to "make it go away." The source of the funds is described in the complaint as "unknown."
That gap matters. Without documentation showing where the money came from, personal funds, campaign accounts, or a third party, the allegation hangs on Wheeler's assertion alone. Congressional ethics rules treat hush-money-style payments and misuse of official funds as separate categories of misconduct, and neither has been established here.
The complaint also alleges the relationship took place in Boebert's district office during and after work hours, in a vehicle for which Navarro collected House mileage reimbursements, and in hotel rooms paid for by Boebert's campaign. If true, those details would raise questions about whether taxpayer and campaign dollars were diverted to facilitate a personal relationship. But the complaint provides no receipts, invoices, or reimbursement records to support the claim.
The House Ethics Committee has handled similar allegations against sitting members before. Rep. Chuck Edwards abandoned his re-election bid after the panel found a pattern of misconduct with young female staffers, a case that moved from complaint to findings. Whether Wheeler's filing follows a similar path or stalls at intake remains to be seen.
Jeffrey Small, who served as Boebert's chief of staff from 2021 to 2025, is the second male staffer named in the complaint. Wheeler's filing alleges Small collected $767,892 in taxpayer-funded salary over that period and received a $10,000 campaign payment upon his departure in January 2025. The complaint does not describe the nature or duration of the alleged relationship with Boebert in the same detail it devotes to Navarro.
Raven Finegan, described as Boebert's current district chief of staff, is the third staffer named. The complaint offers even less detail about Finegan, alleging a sexual relationship without specifying dates, locations, or supporting evidence.
None of the three named staffers, Navarro, Small, or Finegan, have publicly responded to the allegations.
The complaint also alleges that Boebert and Navarro participated in a threesome with former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL). An X post, the author of which is not identified in the reporting, claimed Boebert had affairs with all three staffers and engaged in a threesome with Gaetz and Navarro.
Gaetz responded on X:
"I am requesting that anyone with video of me in this alleged 'threesome' release said evidence IMMEDIATELY! Unedited, please."
The post amounts to a denial through sarcasm. No evidence supporting the threesome allegation has surfaced publicly.
The complaint further alleges that Boebert and Navarro had a physical altercation at Hooch Aspen, a cocktail bar in Aspen owned by Quinn Gallagher. The American Muckrakers report describes Gallagher as a "one-time lover of Boebert," though that characterization is unverified. The complaint claims video of the altercation exists, but no such footage has been published or confirmed.
Congressional ethics proceedings have a mixed track record of holding members accountable. In some cases, the panel has cleared members even when questions lingered about financial filings, while in others, outside pressure has forced investigations that the committee itself seemed reluctant to pursue.
Jayson Boebert, the congresswoman's ex-husband, pushed back against the claims in apparent messages shared as screenshots in the American Muckrakers report. He called the allegations "a fairy tale made up propaganda" and said Wheeler's group had "bad sources" when asked whether he was aware of the alleged affair.
Boebert filed for divorce from Jayson on April 25, 2023, stating the marriage was "irretrievably broken." Breitbart News reported on the filing in May 2023. The divorce preceded several of the events described in the complaint, including Navarro's departure and the alleged $200,000 payment.
Wheeler and American Muckrakers have targeted Republican members of Congress before. The group functions as an opposition research operation, and its complaints carry the weight of sworn filings but not the authority of an independent investigation. Whether the House Ethics Committee treats this complaint as credible enough to warrant a formal inquiry will determine whether the allegations move beyond accusation.
Ethics watchdogs on both sides of the aisle have pressed the committee to act more aggressively on financial misconduct allegations. One recent case involved demands that the panel obtain a Democratic member's financial records after it voted to drop a probe, a reminder that the committee's appetite for investigation often depends on political pressure rather than the strength of the underlying evidence.
The complaint raises serious allegations, but the sourcing is thin and entirely one-sided. No corroborating documents, bank records, text messages, hotel receipts, or mileage reimbursement forms, have been made public. The $200,000 payment's source remains unidentified. The House Ethics Committee has not signaled any response. And Boebert herself has said nothing.
Other members of Congress facing ethics complaints have seen political consequences arrive well before the committee reaches a formal conclusion. The question for Boebert is whether this complaint gains traction through corroborating evidence or fades as an unsubstantiated filing from a group with an obvious political motive.
Voters deserve facts, not allegations laundered through activist groups and social media posts. If the evidence exists, the Ethics Committee should find it. If it does not, the accusers owe more than a sworn form and a press release.
