Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) has denied allegations of having affairs with three staff members, including two women, in response to a sworn ethics complaint filed against her last week. The complaint, submitted on September 17 by the political action committee American Muckrakers, claims that Boebert engaged in inappropriate relationships during her time in Congress.
Boebert, 39, rejected the accusations, stating she is neither lesbian nor bisexual, and insisted she has never been involved in any improper relationships with staff. Her office described the allegations as “utterly false” and politically motivated. A spokesperson characterized the complaint as a tactic intended to damage Boebert’s reputation and accused the complainant, David Wheeler, of recycling baseless and previously debunked claims.
Wheeler, who leads the American Muckrakers and has a history of targeting Boebert with contentious accusations, filed the complaint with the House Ethics Committee. The allegations focus primarily on a purported relationship between Boebert and her former district director, Clarice Navarro Ratzlaff, as well as two other staffers identified in the complaint as former chief of staff Jeffrey Small and current chief of staff Raven Finegan. Few details were provided about the involvement of Small and Finegan.
According to Wheeler, the alleged relationship with Navarro Ratzlaff began in 2021 and continued during her tenure. However, Navarro Ratzlaff has strongly denied the claims, calling them “entirely false, defamatory, and beyond ridiculous.” Both Navarro Ratzlaff and Small left Boebert’s office in 2025, while Finegan remains in her current role.
The complaint also alleges that the liaison with Navarro Ratzlaff extended to campaign-funded hotel rooms and contends that Navarro Ratzlaff received a $200,000 payout in March 2025 to suppress an ethics complaint threat. Wheeler stated that his filing is supported by House disclosures and anonymous sources who purportedly hold evidence, including text messages, court records, recorded conversations, and bank documents.
House ethics rules prohibit members of Congress from engaging in sexual relationships with their staffers, a standard reinforced in recent years following the #MeToo movement. There has been discussion about expanding such prohibitions to cover additional congressional employees.
Boebert has faced public scrutiny in the past, including a viral 2023 incident in which she was removed from a Denver theater for vaping and violating venue rules alongside her then-boyfriend. Despite these controversies, she won reelection in 2024.
Wheeler acknowledged that Boebert’s ex-husband, Jayson Boebert, who divorced her in 2023 after nearly 20 years of marriage, has dismissed the allegations. Boebert currently stands by her denials as the ethics committee reviews the complaint.