A bombshell ethics complaint has rocked Oregon’s Fifth Congressional District, accusing Democrat nominee Janelle Bynum of covering up a sexual assault of a minor volunteer during her 2022 campaign—raising serious questions about her conduct just weeks before the election.
A shocking ethics complaint has surfaced in the high-stakes race for Oregon’s Fifth U.S. Congressional District, alleging that Democrat nominee State Rep. Janelle Bynum engaged in a "willful coverup" of a sexual assault involving a minor volunteer on her 2022 campaign. According to the complaint, Bynum was made aware of the assault by multiple staff members but chose to ignore the allegations and took no action. The accused perpetrator, a field organizer from FuturePAC, a political action committee aligned with Oregon House Democrats, was reportedly involved in the assault. The complaint also alleges that Bynum went as far as threatening those who sought to report the misconduct, raising questions about her role as a mandatory reporter under state law.
The complaint, filed with the Oregon Legislative Equality Office, claims that Bynum dismissed concerns when staffers informed her about the alleged incident and pressured them to stay silent. One staff member's text message to Bynum from November 2022, reviewed by Fox News, shows her instructing them not to send her information about the allegations, stating, "I really can’t take anything else on my plate."
Despite her campaign's denials and claims that she informed FuturePAC after learning of the incident post-election, these revelations have shaken the race. Bynum, who is backed by prominent national Democratic figures like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, now faces intense scrutiny as she seeks to unseat incumbent Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) in one of the most competitive House races of the election cycle. Jeffries and other high-profile Democrats, including House Minority Whip Katherine Clarke and Rep. Steny Hoyer, have provided financial and political support to Bynum, making the allegations particularly explosive in the final stretch of the campaign.
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