California Democrat was probed in 2023 for unwanted advances towards two young female interns

California Congressman Jim Costa was probed in 2023 over allegations that he made unwanted advances toward two interns, NOTUS recently reported.

The Democrat from Fresno allegedly behaved inappropriately with one intern in 2020 and another female intern in 2021, according to a complaint filed three years ago with congressional ethics officials.

Nothing arose from ethics officials’ investigations into Costa, as both the Office of Congressional Conduct and House Ethics Committee dismissed the case. Lawmakers “didn’t find enough evidence to proceed,” a source said.

The first woman alleged to ethics officials that Costa, then 67, approached her, a 22-year-old intern, at an event hosted by a California nonprofit as she was leaving. Costa asked her why she was going home and insisted she stay and dance, the woman alleged.

“I was like, ‘I’ve already danced.’ He’s like, ‘Well, I didn’t dance with you,’” the woman, who now works as a lobbyist, claimed.

After she repeatedly declined, she alleged that Costa awkwardly asked the intern to “shimmy” with her, so the two did so in the checked bag area.

“Every time I leaned back, it seemed like he got farther forward. So I was grateful that I could do a back bend. It was a very uncomfortable situation,” she alleged.

Then, Costa allegedly told the intern he could help her with her congressional career and gave his personal number.

“He just said ‘I would love to help you with your career. Let’s get dinner.’ Which when it comes from a powerful man, does not mean I want to help you,” the woman claimed in her interview with ethics officials. “I’m not dumb. I knew what it meant.”

The next day, she bumped into Costa again, who allegedly inquired why the intern didn’t give him a text and asked if she had a boyfriend. She alleged that he asked her to send her resume to his chief of staff.

The intern eventually did, she said, because she felt “if I didn’t do these things, my career would be ruined.”

Costa then allegedly asked the woman if she would like to go to dinner, according to texts reviewed by NOTUS. Per those communications, she instead suggested a midday meetup, of which afterward the congressman did not respond.

The woman also claimed she spotted Costa in another dancing incident with another intern a year later at an event hosted by the same nonprofit. He allegedly approached a Senate intern and asked to dance, and this time, the intern said yes.

“She very uncomfortably and awkwardly said yes. At which point he started spinning her around, like, touching, dancing,” the woman claimed. “Everyone was staring. A lot of people were taking photos. At which point, I looked at [the male staffer] and said, you go grab her hand and I will grab his.”

Costa, confronted about the dancing, was reportedly flabbergasted and left the event. That intern later cried in the bathroom at the event, the male staffer told NOTUS.

Costa’s office said in a statement shared with the Post that “all ethics complaints should always be taken seriously.”

“Rep. Costa fully cooperated with a review conducted by the Office of Congressional Compliance and the House Committee on Ethics several years ago. The OCC recommended dismissal, and the Ethics Committee unanimously voted to dismiss the matter,” the statement went on, adding those dismissals “speak for themselves.”

This is not the first time the congressman was alleged to make inappropriate romantic or sexual advances.

When Costa was a state assemblymember in 1986, 34-year-old Costa and a 19-year-old prostitute, who were traveling in a state-leased car, approached another woman and allegedly agreed to pay her $50 for an act of prostitution, Sacramento police reported.

“I made the mistake. I accept full responsibility for my error in judgment on last Saturday,” Costa apologized then.

Costa appears to be single and has not been reported to be married. A question on his marital status was not returned.

The news of his alleged advances comes amid renewed scrutiny on such conduct after the implosion of another California congressman’s career. Eric Swalwell resigned from Congress this year and dropped his leading bid for the governorship after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct. Swalwell has denied those claims.

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