A former Democratic congresswoman’s seat may be making headlines, but it’s a sitting Democratic congressman who was investigated for allegedly hitting on young Capitol Hill interns, new reporting reveals. Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA) faced a House ethics inquiry into claims he pursued inappropriate contact with female interns, and the case was quietly dismissed without public disclosure.
NOTUS published the details Monday. A former House Democratic staffer filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Conduct in early 2023, alleging Costa had behaved inappropriately with her in February 2020, when she was a 22-year-old intern working for another lawmaker. Costa was 67 at the time.
According to the NOTUS report, the woman described a California State Society event at which Costa asked her to dance. She declined. The two ended up dancing anyway as she was trying to leave.
Costa then gave her his personal phone number, told her he could help advance her career, and suggested they meet for dinner. When investigators asked whether she interpreted his behavior as sexual in nature, she said yes.
A male witness at the event warned her to watch how she handled Costa’s number and later told NOTUS he remembered the exchange, saying what he saw “was not right.”
The woman also alleged that during a later encounter, Costa asked whether she had a boyfriend, and told her he did not have a girlfriend. She additionally raised a separate allegation: she alleged she witnessed Costa behaving inappropriately with another female intern in December 2021.
The woman told investigators she delayed reporting because she wanted to be “more securely employed” before going on the record.
The case was dismissed without public release. Under House rules, OCE investigations are only made public when dismissed by both the OCC and the Ethics Committee, which is what happened here. No charges were filed. Costa denied wrongdoing.
The NOTUS reporting also surfaced a decades-old incident from 1986: the Los Angeles Times reported at the time that Costa, then a California assemblyman, apologized for soliciting sex from a woman who turned out to be working with law enforcement and was wearing a police transmitter. Costa was reportedly in his 30s during that incident.
Costa, who has represented California’s Central Valley for over two decades, is not married.
The report lands days after former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) resigned from Congress, abandoning his California gubernatorial bid after being accused of rape and sexual misconduct. Multiple other congressional ethics probes are active across both parties, including inquiries into Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) and a motion by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) to expel Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) on misconduct grounds.
