A formal ethics complaint, submitted under oath, has been lodged against Rep. Lauren Boebert alleging inappropriate sexual relationships with three staffers, including two women.
The complaint, submitted by David B. Wheeler on behalf of American Muckrakers to the House Ethics Committee on September 17, identifies the alleged relationships as involving former District Director Clarice Navarro Ratzlaff, District Chief of Staff Raven Finegan, and former Chief of Staff Jeffrey Small.
The grievance referenced a 2018 regulation that banned romantic relationships between members and their employees.
According to Raw Story, this regulation was put in place in February 2018 following a string of troubling harassment incidents on Capitol Hill. The committee relied on this rule to initiate its 2019 ethics investigation concerning former Rep. Katie Hill.
Who is David Wheeler?
David Wheeler is an American political activist who leads American Muckrakers, a political action committee (PAC). While he holds no position with the House Ethics Committee itself, he's the one who submitted a sworn ethics complaint to the U.S. House Committee on Ethics targeting Representative Lauren Boebert.
{{/usCountry}}David Wheeler is an American political activist who leads American Muckrakers, a political action committee (PAC). While he holds no position with the House Ethics Committee itself, he's the one who submitted a sworn ethics complaint to the U.S. House Committee on Ethics targeting Representative Lauren Boebert.
{{/usCountry}}Representative Boebert's team firmly pushed back against the claims, dismissing them as “utterly false” and and calling Wheeler's filing as a politically driven smear effort by an activist. Wheeler insists that he remains confident in his sources and the legitimacy of the complaint.
David Wheeler's complaint against Lauren Boebert
The complaint outlines encounters that took place in Ratzlaff's office, inside a campaign-funded vehicle, and within hotel rooms covered by campaign finances. The document also references approximately $449,000 in compensation along with an additional $200,000 given to her following her departure. The $200,000 was specifically transferred in March 2025, following Ratzlaff's resignation and her notification to Boebert that she intended to file her own ethics complaint.
According to Colorado Times Recorder, the complaint further alleges that Boebert orchestrated the $200,000 payment as a way to discourage Ratzlaff from submitting that complaint. Boebert's team has yet to provide a response to the publication's request for comment.
Ratzlaff has characterized the claims as “entirelyfalse and defamatory.”
David Wheeler hits back at Lauren Boebert
As Boebert rejected the allegations, Wheeler took to American Muckrakers official X handle and targetted the politician, saying: “Our response to @LaurenBoebert@RepBoebert denial of our story about her sexual relationship with 2 female and 1 male staffer, paying $200K in hush money, and giving an ex lover a 5 month no work, ghost job.
“Lauren Boebert's actions speak a lot louder than her words.”
He went on to say that Boebert “has a problem telling the truth and taking responsibility for her actions.”
“We stand 100% by our story and sources. Read the full story and the complaint and ask yourself, why would I perjure myself over this person and risk a criminal trial? I live with three school-age children and would never risk my freedom or their futures.”
In the post, Wheeler even mentioned that he is ready to face Boebert or any other person, who thinks that he is lying for political gains, in court. “Pls sue me”.
“We'll have more on this story and new details on Monday,” he concluded.