Ethics Complaint Exposes Rep. Lauren Boebert’s Abuse of Power and Corrupt Payouts
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A sworn complaint to the House Ethics Committee accuses far-right Rep. Lauren Boebert of exploiting her position for sexual relationships with staff and orchestrating a $200,000 hush payment to silence a whistleblower.
An ethics complaint submitted to the House Ethics Committee on September 17 lays bare the rampant abuse of power by Rep. Lauren Boebert, who is accused of engaging in sexual relationships with three congressional staffers—former district director Clarice Navarro Ratzlaff, district chief of staff Raven Finegan, and former chief of staff Jeffrey Small. The complaint cites a 2018 House rule, established to prevent precisely this kind of predatory behavior by members of Congress, which has previously been used to hold others accountable.
The complaint details secretive meetings in Ratzlaff’s office, the misuse of a campaign-funded vehicle, and hotel rendezvous, while also referencing over $449,000 in salary payments and a staggering $200,000 lump-sum payout in March 2025 after Ratzlaff left her post. According to the Colorado Times Recorder, Boebert allegedly arranged this payment to silence Ratzlaff and prevent her from exposing further unethical conduct. Boebert’s office, unsurprisingly, has refused to comment on these serious allegations.
Ratzlaff, for her part, has denied the allegations, dismissing them as “entirely false and defamatory.” The House Ethics Committee has yet to announce an investigation, raising concerns about accountability for powerful politicians. The complaint is based on notes from unnamed sources, and the reporting outlet noted that payroll and campaign-finance figures have not been independently verified, a common challenge when investigating entrenched power structures.
Far-right former Rep. Matt Gaetz, a close political ally of Boebert and himself no stranger to sexual-misconduct probes, responded with a flippant social media post demanding video evidence of the alleged threesome, trivializing the gravity of the accusations. NPR highlighted Gaetz’s history with similar ethics investigations.
This filing comes amid a wave of scrutiny over congressional misconduct, including the recent resignations of Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales following separate investigations, underscoring the urgent need for systemic reform and accountability in Congress.