Rep. Lauren Boebert is pushing back hard against an ethics complaint from a longtime political adversary alleging she had sexual relationships with three members of her staff, calling the filing a baseless smear built on recycled accusations.
David Wheeler, the activist behind American Muckrakers PAC, filed the complaint with the House Ethics Committee on Thursday, alleging the Colorado Republican carried on inappropriate relationships with former district director Clarice Navarro Ratzlaff, implied former chief of staff Jeffrey Small, and current chief of staff Raven Finegan. The complaint claims the relationships involved campaign-funded hotel rooms and a $200,000 payout to Navarro Ratzlaff after she left Boebert's office and allegedly threatened to file her own ethics complaint.
Boebert, 39, did not equivocate. She told Sources Say News directly:
"Well, 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."
Her spokesperson reinforced that denial to the New York Post, calling the complaint "utterly false" and dismissing it as a political stunt.
Wheeler is no stranger to targeting Boebert. He has pursued the congresswoman for years, and his record includes a 2022 report accusing Boebert of previously working as an escort, a claim that featured photographs of a woman who turned out not to be Boebert. Wheeler later acknowledged errors in that reporting, which he himself described as "sloppy" research.
That episode led to a defamation lawsuit Wheeler filed against Boebert after she threatened legal action over the false claims. The two sides eventually reached a settlement. Boebert also obtained a restraining order against Wheeler in 2022. Wheeler previously targeted former Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina as well.
The complaint itself, according to Wheeler, rests on House financial disclosures and anonymous sources. He claimed his "sources" possess text messages, court documents, recorded conversations, and bank records to support the accusations. But Wheeler also admitted he does not have a video he referenced, one that allegedly shows a physical altercation between Boebert and Navarro Ratzlaff at a bar in Aspen, Colorado, owned by Quinn Gallagher, Boebert's former boyfriend.
The House Ethics Committee has not publicly confirmed receipt of the complaint or indicated whether it plans to take any action.
Every named individual who responded to the allegations rejected them outright. Navarro Ratzlaff told the Colorado Times Recorder the claims were "entirely false, defamatory, and beyond ridiculous," adding there was "absolutely no truth to any part of this claim."
Even Boebert's ex-husband Jayson, who separated from her in 2023 after roughly 20 years of marriage, dismissed the accusations when American Muckrakers contacted him. He called them "a fairy tale made up propaganda" and added, "I don't believe any of that. Bad sources."
The complaint's most sensational allegation, that Boebert, Navarro Ratzlaff, and former Rep. Matt Gaetz were involved in a "threesome", drew a sardonic response from Gaetz himself. He posted on X:
"I am requesting that anyone with video of me in this alleged 'threesome' release said evidence IMMEDIATELY! Unedited, please."
Gaetz, who left Congress and was previously accused of having intercourse with an underage girl, an allegation he vehemently denied, has been known to be friendly with Boebert.
While the filing centers on the alleged relationship between Boebert and Navarro Ratzlaff, claiming it began in 2021 and continued through Navarro Ratzlaff's tenure, the complaint itself provides very few details about the accusations involving Small and Finegan. Both Navarro Ratzlaff and Small left Boebert's office in 2025. Finegan remains on staff as chief of staff. Neither Small nor Finegan has commented publicly.
The complaint alleges Navarro Ratzlaff received $30,650 in year-end bonuses from taxpayer funds, described as payment "for the relationship, not for official work." It further alleges the separate $200,000 payment came after Navarro Ratzlaff departed and threatened to file an ethics complaint of her own. Navarro Ratzlaff has not addressed the payout allegation specifically.
House rules enacted in the wake of the #MeToo movement prohibit members of Congress from having sexual relationships with their own staffers. Over the past year, there has been a push to extend that ban to other congressional staff as well.
The ethics complaint lands amid a period in which Boebert's personal life has drawn sustained media attention. In 2023, she and Gallagher, a registered Democrat, were removed from a Beetlejuice performance at a Denver theater for vaping, taking photos, and causing a disturbance. Boebert later apologized. She and Jayson Boebert split that same year.
Boebert's family has also faced legal trouble. Her son Tyler was arrested on child sexual exploitation charges in Colorado, a case that drew national attention.
He later pleaded guilty to child abuse under a plea deal that drew criticism for its leniency.
In June, separate accusations surfaced, sourced to the ex-girlfriend of Rep. Thomas Massie, a libertarian-leaning Kentucky Republican, alleging Boebert was having a tryst with Massie. Boebert responded to reporters with visible anger, saying, "F, you, first of all. If you're gonna bring me into this, like, this sexist s*** is out of control."
Earlier, in April, she publicly asked "why is everybody so horny" amid a wave of sex-related scandals involving members of Congress.
Despite the turbulence, Boebert survived her 2024 reelection campaign. Her spokesperson framed the latest complaint as part of a familiar pattern, telling the Post that the allegations "come from an activist who has long recycled sensational claims, including numerous baseless accusations previously fact-checked as false."
"This is nothing more than a politically motivated stunt designed to manipulate the ethics process, create headlines, smear her, and generate clickbait."
Whether the House Ethics Committee takes up the complaint remains an open question. But when the filer admits he doesn't have the evidence he himself referenced, and the track record includes publishing photos of the wrong woman, the complaint arrives with credibility problems that no amount of anonymous sourcing can fix.