House Ethics Officials Probe Costa, but Dismiss Case Alleging Wrongdoing With Interns

A pair of congressional ethics committees investigated Rep. Jim Costa, who was accused of misconduct involving interns.

NOTUS first reported the story Monday. The Washington, D.C.-based digital publication was founded by Robert L. Allbritton, founder of Politico.

A Democratic House staffer alleged in a complaint that Costa, D-Fresno, “behaved inappropriately and made advances toward her” during a Washington function in February 2020, before the pandemic. The woman did not work directly for Costa.

Costa’s Office Responds

Costa’s office sent GV Wire a statement, similar to what it sent to NOTUS.

“Thank you for the opportunity to respond. All ethics complaints should always be taken seriously. Rep. Costa fully cooperated with a review conducted by the Office of Congressional Compliance [sic] and the House Committee on Ethics several years ago. The OCC recommended dismissal, and the Ethics Committee unanimously voted to dismiss the matter. We take issue with a number of the accounts in your email, but we are not going to address them point-by-point. The actions of the OCC and the Ethics Committee speak for themselves,” Costa spokesperson Lisa Ortiz said.

The Allegations

According to an interview transcript acquired by NOTUS, the woman told the Office of Congressional Ethics (now called the Office of Congressional Conduct) that Costa asked her, at the time more than 50 years his junior, to dance as she was leaving the event. She acquiesced to his request to dance the “shimmy.”

The office is independent of the House of Representatives and conducts initial investigations into complaints against House members and staff. It refers matters to the House Committee on Ethics. The office did not respond to messages from GV Wire.

“Every time I leaned back, it seemed like he got farther forward. So I was grateful that I could do a backbend. It was a very uncomfortable situation,” the woman, who was not named, told NOTUS.

Costa allegedly told the intern he could help advance her career and asked her to dinner. The woman told NOTUS she believed that implied he was pursuing a sexual relationship. She filed a complaint with the OCE in 2023.

She also alleged witnessing a similar incident involving Costa and another female intern in 2021. The complainant said she intervened.

NOTUS reported that the woman told Rep. Ami Bera, D-Elk Grove, in 2022, about her concerns about Costa’s conduct.

“Congressman Bera has no recollection of this happening. Had an intern approached him about this, his advice unequivocally would have been for the individual to file a formal complaint. The Ethics Committee has not reached out to Congressman Bera about these allegations,” Bera spokesperson Louie Kahn told GV Wire.

Congress Doesn’t Report Allegations If It Clears a Member

If the House Committee on Ethics takes no action on a referral, it is not publicly reported. There is no mention of Costa in the committee’s “summary of activities” publications dating back to 2020. A committee spokesperson had no comment.

Costa is also not mentioned in Office of Congressional Conduct reports. OCC rules do not require disclosure if the board votes to recommend dismissal.

NOTUS reported that the ethics committee took no action on Costa.

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