Lauren Boebert responds to claims she had affairs with 3 staffers and paid $200,000 to keep it quiet

Lauren Boebert has publicly rejected allegations that she had sexual relationships with three members of her staff and arranged a $200,000 payment to stop one of them from making an ethics complaint.

The Colorado congresswoman was named in a sworn complaint submitted by American Muckrakers founder David Wheeler, which alleges she had relationships with three current or former House employees who worked under her supervision.

It also alleges that a $200,000 payment was specifically arranged by Boebert to be made to one former staffer to prevent her from lodging a complaint of her own.

That former employee has denied the claims concerning her, whilst Boebert’s office told Us Weekly that the wider allegations as ‘utterly false’.

Now, Boebert has addressed the story herself in a video posted to her X (formerly Twitter), directing much of her anger at journalists who covered the claims.

She began, as also reported by Us Weekly: “Hey journalists, now that I'm finished with my more important task of the day, I have a few words for you.

“You all ran a smear and called it news. Some sloppy, desperate, obsessive hack stamps under oath on a fake filing so you'll write penalty of perjury in the headline. Yeah, that's the whole freaking trick. It's a scam, and you fell for it.”

Boebert went on to challenge the way the complaint was submitted, pointing to House Ethics Committee rules governing complaints from people outside Congress.

She said: “No member of Congress certified in writing that his salacious BS attack was made in good faith and warrants review as required by Ethics.

“And it's evident that you didn't even bother to look up House Ethics Committee rules that clearly state the committee can't even accept a complaint filed inside 60 days of an election.”

House Ethics rules state that a formal complaint submitted by someone who is not a House member requires written certification from a member saying they believe it was submitted in good faith and warrants review.

The committee’s rules also say it will not accept a complaint submitted within 60 days of an election in which the subject is a candidate.

Boebert then accused media organisations of putting her staff in the firing line by naming them in coverage.

She went on: “Nobody in your newsroom checked the rule book before they put my team's names in your stories. Their photos are everywhere now, and they are under attack because of your laziness.”

She also referred to her long-running dispute with Wheeler before adding: “This is more filthy garbage that reaches beyond me. This reaches into the homes of people who have dedicated years of service to Coloradans alongside of me.”

Wheeler previously acknowledged errors in claims he made about Boebert in 2022, including the publication of a photograph showing another woman.

Boebert continued: “I know that you're more than willing to attack me and shame my household, but this is different, and you crossed a line.”

She ended by thanking those who had supported her and added one final remark: “And I gotta say just one more thing before I sign off here. To the rest of y'all, no, I'm not hiring.”

A spokesperson for Boebert told Us Magazine: "Congresswoman Lauren Boebert rejects these allegations as utterly false and there is 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."