Lauren Boebert has long cast herself as a “family values” crusader.
Now, she’s facing a sworn complaint accusing the Trump-endorsed Colorado congresswoman of having inappropriate sexual relationships with three staffers and paying one of them $200,000 to keep quiet.
Boebert says the allegations are “utterly false.”
The complaint, filed Thursday, Sept. 17, accused Boebert of inappropriate sexual relationships with three separate staffers and of paying one of them $200,000 to keep quiet about it. The allegations have not been independently substantiated.
A spokesperson for Boebert said the allegations were “utterly false” and there was “no truth to them whatsoever.”
“This is nothing more than a politically motivated stunt designed to manipulate the ethics process, create headlines, smear her, and generate clickbait,” they said.
“They come from an activist who has long recycled sensational claims, including numerous baseless accusations previously fact-checked as false.”
The strongly worded denial comes after Boebert broke her silence in an interview published Saturday with Capitol Hill reporter Juliegrace Brufke. Boebert categorically denied the claims.
“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,” Boebert told Brufke, a former Daily Beast reporter.
The complaint, filed by American Muckrakers’ David B. Wheeler, was published by Wheeler on Friday. In it, he details the allegations against Boebert.
The three staffers named in the complaint are Clarice Navarro, Boebert’s district director from January 2021 to January 2025; Jeffrey Small, Boebert’s chief of staff from 2021 to 2025; and Raven Finegan, Boebert’s current district chief of staff.
Under rules adopted by the House during the #MeToo reckoning, members cannot have sexual relationships with anyone they supervise, regardless of consent. The only exception is if they are married. The rule prohibits members from engaging in sexual relationships with House employees who work under their supervision.
The bulk of the complaint focuses on the alleged relationship with Navarro, which Wheeler claims began in 2021 and was maintained until she left Boebert’s office in January 2025.
Navarro, however, vehemently denies the claims. In a text statement to the Colorado Times Recorder, she described the allegations as “entirely false, defamatory, and beyond ridiculous. There is absolutely no truth to any part of this claim.”
According to the complaint, their sexual encounters allegedly took place during and after office hours, in the district office, in a vehicle for which Navarro collected House mileage reimbursements, and in hotel rooms paid for by Boebert’s campaign.
Wheeler further claims that in March 2025, Boebert paid Navarro $200,000 after she allegedly threatened to file an ethics complaint.
Much of the evidence cited for the alleged relationships comes from unnamed sources.
Wheeler says he has text messages, bank records, court documents, and recorded conversations that support his allegations that the relationship took place. The complaint says its evidence includes House payroll records, Federal Election Commission filings, court records, and information from sources with direct knowledge.
Wheeler has a history of targeting Boebert. In 2022, he published escort allegations that mistakenly used another woman’s photograph, later admitting the research had been “sloppy.” The Colorado Times Recorder reported that Wheeler later acknowledged errors in his reporting, including using a photograph of a woman who was not Boebert.
Boebert has previously railed against hush payments and called for transparency around members of Congress paying to staffers.
In June, Boebert lashed out at journalists when asked about allegations of an affair between herself and Rep. Thomas Massie, who she supported in his primary after Trump endorsed his rival and ultimate primary winner, Ed Gallrein.
In 2023, Boebert filed for divorce from Jayson Boebert, her husband of nearly 20 years, with whom she shares four sons.
In a text message published by American Muckrakers, Jayson Boebert told Wheeler that his allegations were all “a fairy tale made up propaganda” and that he had “bad sources.”
