Lauren Boebert is taking aim at what she calls Congress’ “sexual misconduct slush fund” as she pushes for full disclosure of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Speaking to Raw Story, the Colorado Republican said she is backing a bipartisan petition that demands the Department of Justice release all documents tied to Epstein and his associates. The petition is led by Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and California Democrat Ro Khanna. Boebert is one of only four Republicans to sign on.
But she told Raw Story that isn’t enough. She argued Congress needs to come clean about payouts made to hush up misconduct claims against lawmakers. “Also, I think the sexual assault slush fund, members of Congress paying off staffers to be quiet, that this should be released too,” she said.
For years, Capitol Hill has used taxpayer money to quietly settle disputes. Since the late 1990s, more than $17 million has been spent through the Office of Compliance. That total doesn’t even include some sexual harassment settlements, like the one that came out of former Rep.
John Conyers’ office budget in 2017. A House committee later revealed nearly $300,000 had been used since 2003 to settle 13 claims tied to harassment or discrimination. The identities of those involved were never made public.
Boebert insists that it needs to change. “That’s a pretty big one, and, you know, I was promised before this Congress that we would be all over it. And I’ve heard more about the Epstein list and other things than that. So why are we — are these members still here? What were they covering up? What were they paying off? That’s something the American people need to be demanding answers on,” she said.
When asked if this is a bipartisan swamp, she didn’t hesitate. “Yes. Absolutely.” She added that she is not interested in protecting anyone based on party loyalty. “Absolutely. I don’t care what letter is next to anybody’s name,” she said. At the same time, she admitted that not every detail may be as damning as it sounds.
“Of course, you know, some things in there could be, you know, sound worse than they are,” she said. “I understand that aspect of it, but I want to see what’s in there. Why is this something that the House of Representatives is paying out to people and we have no transparency on it? We don’t know what they’re being paid for.”
Other Republicans are echoing the call. Massie posted in December, “Congress has secretly paid out more than $17 million of your money to quietly settle charges of harassment (sexual and other forms) in Congressional offices.
Don’t you think we should release the names of the Representatives? I do.” Marjorie Taylor Greene also weighed in, writing, “Yes. I want to release the congressional sexual slush fund list.”
The pressure is building as Epstein’s shadow continues to loom over Washington. Whether lawmakers will allow the public to see both the Epstein records and the details of their own hush payouts is another matter entirely. For now, Boebert is making it clear she won’t let the issue slip quietly back into the dark.