As the week got underway, the House Ethics Committee announced its findings into Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards of North Carolina, and the results were rather brutal: The panel concluded that there was “substantial reason” to believe he violated congressional sexual harassment rules with his “intimate and effusive attentions” toward two young women who worked in his office.

Soon after, GOP leaders reportedly launched a private lobbying effort to persuade the incumbent congressman to abandon his re-election campaign. Those efforts appear to have worked.

At 3:32 a.m. ET, Edwards published a brief item to social media that read in its entirety:

After much prayer and reflection, I’ve decided to withdraw from my re-election campaign. I will complete my current term. Serving Western North Carolina has been the honor of my life. Thank you for your trust, prayers, and support. God bless WNC and America.

It’s worth emphasizing that Edwards’ campaign, just hours after the Ethics Committee’s report was released, issued a statement arguing that the findings “completely exonerate” him, which was difficult to take seriously.

It also proved unsustainable.

The GOP congressman’s announcement came two days after the ethics panel documented Edwards’ remarkable generosity toward two young women who worked in his congressional office. The lawmaker, who is married, “went beyond norms of professional behavior by giving both women lavish gifts. Both women received numerous gifts from Representative Edwards, including jewelry totaling over $1,000, designer purses, guns, shoes, flowers, a laptop and cell phone, KitchenAid mixer, robotic vacuum, vacations, tickets to performances, and one-on-one dinners.”

At one of the staffers’ going-away party, the North Carolinian, according to the House Ethics Committee, cried while reading her a poem he wrote about her, making other staffers feel “uncomfortable.”

Edwards also gave a handwritten letter to one of the staffers as she was set to leave his office, telling her that she had “written a complex chapter in my heart,” the committee said.

The ethics panel recommended that the House approve a formal censure resolution against Edwards, which might yet happen, regardless of his decision not to seek another term.

Edwards easily defeated a primary rival in March, and it’s not yet clear how exactly he’ll be replaced in his competitive North Carolina district. Meanwhile, it’s likely that at least some of Edwards’ colleagues will push for his resignation, even as he plans to serve out the remainder of his term.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.

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