Boebert calls ethics complaint alleging sex with three staffers 'utterly false'

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) is pushing back hard against a sworn ethics complaint that accuses her of sexual relationships with three members of her congressional staff and of paying one of them $200,000 to prevent her from filing her own complaint — calling the allegations 'utterly false' and the filing itself a procedurally invalid political hit timed to her re-election campaign.

I reject these baseless allegations as utterly false and there is no truth to them whatsoever. I have never had a sexual relationship or an inappropriate romantic relationship with any member of my staff—past or present. This is nothing more than a politically motivated stunt designed to manipulate the ethics process, create headlines, smear me, and generate clickbait.— Lauren Boebert, U.S. Representative (CO-04)

On September 17, David Wheeler — an independent journalist, activist, and founder of the American Muckrakers political action committee — submitted the complaint to the House Committee on Ethics. According to Wheeler, Boebert committed at least seven violations of House ethics rules. The Guardian reviewed the complaint but has not independently substantiated the allegations, and no outlet among those covering the story has done so either. The Ethics Committee had not announced a review at the time of reporting.

The complaint names three staffers: Clarice Navarro Ratzlaff, identified as Boebert's district director from January 2021 to January 2025; Raven Finegan, who currently serves as her district chief of staff; and Jeffrey Small, her chief of staff from 2021 to 2025. The bulk of the complaint focuses on an alleged four-year romantic and sexual relationship with Ratzlaff, which Wheeler claims ended when Ratzlaff broke off the affair and threatened her own ethics action. Wheeler alleges Boebert then paid Ratzlaff $200,000 in March 2025. The complaint also alleges Boebert fired Ratzlaff in September 2024 but kept her on payroll as a 'ghost employee' until January 2025.

According to Wheeler, his group's knowledge of the relationships comes directly from text messages, bank records, court documents, and recorded conversations. The complaint also includes House payroll records and Federal Election Commission filings showing payments of more than $450,000 to Finegan through June 2026, nearly $780,000 to Small, and more than $461,000 to Ratzlaff. Much of the evidence cited for the alleged relationships, however, comes from unnamed sources, according to the Daily Beast.

Both Boebert and Ratzlaff deny the allegations. Ratzlaff, a Republican former Colorado state representative, told the Colorado Times Recorder by text: 'These allegations regarding me are entirely false, defamatory, and beyond ridiculous. There is absolutely no truth to any part of this claim.' In a statement to reporter Juliegrace Brufke of Sources Say News, Boebert said: 'I'm not a lesbian or bisexual, and I have never, ever been in any inappropriate relationship, nor have I ever been sexually involved with any staff.'

These allegations regarding me are entirely false, defamatory, and beyond ridiculous. There is absolutely no truth to any part of this claim.— Clarice Navarro Ratzlaff, former District Director

Boebert's office is also challenging whether the filing qualifies as a formal complaint at all. House Committee on Ethics Rule 15 requires that any submission from a non-member be certified in writing by a sitting House member, who must attest that it was made in good faith and merits committee review, before it can be treated as an official complaint. As of Boebert's statement, no member had provided that certification. Rule 15 also prohibits complaints from being filed within 60 days of an election in which the subject member is a candidate — a window that covers the September 17 filing, given the November 3 election.

Swearing to it does not make it a complaint. This was a political smear packaged as an ethics filing and published before anyone checked whether it even qualifies under the Committee's rules.— Boebert spokesperson

Boebert's office also pointed to Wheeler's track record. In a June 2022 CNN fact-check, at least five inaccurate claims previously published by American Muckrakers were identified, including the publication of another woman's photograph as Boebert, an incorrect claim about a campaign contribution linked to Sen. Ted Cruz, and a false abortion claim. Wheeler acknowledged to CNN at the time that the group had been 'sloppy' and had published 'inaccuracies.' Boebert's statement also alleges Wheeler may have committed perjury by certifying his allegations under penalty of perjury.

The House rule at the center of the complaint was adopted during the #MeToo reckoning. Regardless of consent, the rule forbids members from entering into sexual relationships with House employees who report to them. The only exception is if the two people are married. The allegations carry particular political resonance because Boebert has frequently promoted her Christian values and has been publicly critical of same-sex relationships — including posting on X in June, without evidence, that Major League Baseball was 'forcing' players to promote an LGBTQ+ agenda, according to the Guardian.

The complaint is not Boebert's first brush with personal controversy. After closed-circuit footage from a Denver theater captured her and a male companion groping each other in September 2023, she apologized; she had been escorted from the building and at first denied vaping, later acknowledging she had, saying she 'genuinely did not recall vaping that evening.' She also denied striking her ex-husband in January 2024, when police responded to a disturbance between the two at a restaurant in Silt, Colorado. In June 2025, she abruptly ended a Fox News Digital interview when a reporter raised allegations of a relationship with Rep. Thomas Massie, saying 'Fuck you, first of all' before walking away. In May 2023, Boebert filed for divorce from her husband Jayson Boebert, citing irreconcilable differences.

The Ethics Committee's next step — whether to certify the complaint, open a review, or take no action — will determine whether the allegations move beyond the political arena into a formal congressional process. Until a member certifies the filing or the committee acts independently, the September 17 document remains, by Boebert's own framing and the committee's rules, something less than an official complaint.

Why it matters — The complaint tests both the integrity of House ethics processes — which have specific rules about what qualifies as an official complaint — and the credibility of a congresswoman who has made Christian family values central to her political identity, ahead of a November election.

Sources differ on Whether the September 17 filing constitutes an official House ethics complaint: Not an official complaint — no House member has certified it in good faith, and it falls within the 60-day pre-election bar under House Ethics Rule 15. (boebert.house.gov) vs Filed as a sworn complaint with the House Committee on Ethics on September 17. (theguardian.com)

Sources differ on Truth of the sexual relationship allegations: Allegations are 'utterly false'; Boebert has never had a sexual or inappropriate romantic relationship with any staff member. (boebert.house.gov) vs Complaint alleges relationships supported by text messages, bank records, court documents, and recorded conversations. (theguardian.com)

Reported by theguardian.com, thedailybeast.com, people.com, boebert.house.gov, thepinknews.com