Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA) was investigated over allegations of inappropriate behavior with interns, but the case was later dismissed, NOTUS reported Monday.
The news comes after now former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) resigned from the U.S. House and abandoned his campaign for governor of California when he was accused of rape and sexual misconduct, per Breitbart News.
The NOTUS article said:
A former House Democratic staffer filed a complaint with House ethics officials in early 2023 alleging that Costa behaved inappropriately and made advances toward her in February 2020, when she was an intern for a different lawmaker. The woman also alleged that she saw Costa behave inappropriately with another female intern in December 2021.
The outlet noted, “Investigations conducted by the Office of Congressional Conduct — at the time called the Office of Congressional Ethics [OCE] — must be made public unless both the OCC and the Ethics Committee move to dismiss the case, which it did in the case of Costa.”
The woman waited a few years after the alleged incident to report it because by then she was more securely employed.
While speaking with OCE, she said she was a 22-year-old intern at the time and Costa was 67. During an event hosted by the California State Society, she recalled an awkward moment when he asked her to dance but she declined.
However, they ended up dancing as she was trying to leave the event.
According to the NOTUS report, he told her he wanted to help with her career, gave her his personal phone number, and said they should meet for dinner. When an investigator asked if she felt the insinuation was sexual, she said yes.
A man who saw the alleged incident warned her to be careful with how she handled Costa’s phone number, and that witness later told NOTUS he remembered warning her, adding what he saw was not right.
The woman later bumped into Costa, who is not married, and he allegedly asked if she had a boyfriend and indicated he did not have a girlfriend, per the NOTUS article:
The OCE staff asked the woman if Costa gave “any indication about why he felt the need to tell you that he didn’t have a girlfriend.” The woman suggested it was because “he never settled down and he continues [to] hit on young women, I guess. He in the past has gotten in trouble for paying for sex as well. There are articles about it,” according to the interview transcript. The Los Angeles Times reported in 1986 that Costa, then an assemblyman in Fresno, apologized for soliciting an act of prostitution from a woman who was wired with a police transmitter. Costa, who was in his 30s, was also reportedly accompanied by a 19-year-old sex worker.
The news comes amid ethics issues regarding other government leaders. In April, Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) said he would be filing to retire from Congress after admitting to an affair with a former aide, who committed suicide in 2025, according to Breitbart News.
In addition, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) said Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s (R-SD) office and Senate ethics officials were reviewing information about Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) that included allegations of a sexual incident and possible campaign finance violations.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) recently filed a motion to expel Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) due to allegations including stolen valor and sexual misconduct, and the House Ethics Committee has reportedly launched a probe over allegations of sexual harassment by Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC), per Breitbart News.
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