🍻 In This Week's Hill Spill Newsletter: Unexpected Bedfellows, Wild Ethics Receipts and a Psychologist Weighs In on Congressional Chaos

🍹 Welcome to this week's Hill Spill — it's Thursday, so you know what that means! It has been a week and we have all sorts of tea to spill!

This week we have some very unexpected bedfellows with a DOJ plot twist, Chuck Edwards dropping out after the Ethics Committee unveiled some wild receipts, mounting pressure on Max Miller to drop out of his race and Cory Mills primary drama! On top of that, we talked with a psychologist to try and get to the bottom of why some members are so insane. Grab a drink and let's get started🍸

Scoop: Eric Swalwell wielded an unexpected argument when FBI Director Kash Patel threatened to release files on the then-congressman's contacts with suspected Chinese intelligence operative Christine Fang.

According to information provided to Sources Say News, Swalwell's side raised the prospect that releasing the files could be viewed as a punitive attempt to weaponize the Department — pointing to the congressman's long-concluded sexual relationship with former senior administration official Katie Miller from roughly a decade ago.

Miller, now the wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, had been involved with Swalwell in her early 20s, before her relationship with her now-husband. She said she was unaware the past relationship had been discussed with the DOJ.

The issue arose as the California Democrat sought to prevent the release of Justice Department files concerning his former contact with Fang, also known as "Fang Fang." Patel signaled in March that he planned to release documents from the decade-old investigation, The Washington Post first reported — prompting Swalwell, then the frontrunner in the California governor's race before dropping out amid sexual misconduct allegations, to send Patel a cease-and-desist letter.

"The congressman has never been accused of wrongdoing in that matter, and your attempt to release the file is a transparent attempt to smear him and undermine his campaign for governor of California," the letter said, warning of "significant legal liability."

Attorneys at the Justice Department, then led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, communicated with a lawyer for Swalwell about efforts to prevent the files from being released, according to a source familiar with the exchanges.

The dispute comes against the backdrop of longstanding DOJ policies that generally bar officials from releasing investigative information to embarrass individuals when no charges have been filed.

Sources said Bondi ultimately declined to authorize the release.

Asked about the communications regarding Miller and about allegations that Miller preferred the files not be released and had a friendly rapport with the former congressman, Bondi replied: "My ONLY contact with the Congressman was regarding death threats to his wife and children." The Department said it "investigates crimes irrespective of politics." A source familiar with the matter was not aware of any written comments regarding Miller in the Department's documents.

Swalwell has publicly denied that Bondi tipped him off about the FBI's plans. Miller, meanwhile, has repeatedly attacked him on X over ethics and conduct while defending her husband.

On Fox News' Jesse Watters Primetime in April, Stephen Miller argued Democrats use compromising information to control their members: "It's got a blackmail file on ALL of its politicians, and it uses them to leverage and control them until it's time to release it."

The Daily Mail reported that Trump's decision to replace Bondi may have stemmed partly from allegations she tipped Swalwell off.

Swalwell declined to comment or participate in the story.

Read the full version of the story here.

Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) dropped his re-election bid at 3:32 in the morning and honestly, given what we now know about the weird poems, thirty flavors of ice cream, Adam Sandler puzzles and the time he hired a singer to perform a staffer's favorite songs at her birthday, we are not entirely surprised it took until the middle of the night to work up to it.

Sources confirmed that top leaders pushed for him to go — and senior sources told us leadership was actually more focused on getting Edwards out than on embattled Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) in terms of holding GOP seats.

"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," Edwards posted.

The decision follows a House Ethics Committee recommendation to censure him over his conduct toward two female staffers in their twenties, involving a pattern of behavior the committee described as persistent, unprofessional and inappropriate. His team disputed that framing, saying the committee found no evidence of sexual misconduct, no quid pro quo and no adverse employment consequences for either staffer.

Here is what the committee did find… Among the gifts Edwards gave the two staffers were personalized firearms, jewelry, designer handbags, electronics, small appliances, trips and repeated dinners. One staffer received a custom jigsaw puzzle of actor Adam Sandler along with an invitation to see him live. He hired a singer to perform a staffer's favorite songs at her birthday. He had flowers sent to a hotel room during a Las Vegas trip after she had already left, a gesture she reportedly found unwelcome. And he sent thirty different types of ice cream to a staffer's home — which, we just want to note, is a lot of ice cream for one person's freezer. When she told him it was excessive, Edwards reportedly wrote back "You looked like you needed a lot of cheering up!" The committee also noted he skipped floor votes to help a staffer with holiday decorating and that relevant messages had been deleted from his phone.

We do not condone sexual harassment or Coach purses — sir, if you are going to pull that at least get the girl some real designer. JK, just don't sexually harass your staff.

We remain confused by the thirty pints of ice cream situation given the level of freezer space that requires. Where did it all go? These are the questions that keep us up at night.

Kate Santaliz, a fantastic reporter, first broke this scandal back in May.

Edwards denied wrongdoing throughout. He will serve out the remainder of his term. The North Carolina seat will be an open race in November.

There have been no shortage of scandals in recent months so we thought it was time to bring in a professional. This week we sat down with psychologist Dr. Joel Weinberger to ask the question we have all been wondering: why are so many members of Congress completely batshit?

Dr. Weinberger gives us his takes on the psychology behind power and entitlement, whether Washington actually changes people or just happens to be a magnet for a very specific type of personality, and what the research says about what happens to the human brain when someone gets a little too comfortable with authority.

We also get into whether things are actually getting worse up on the Hill or whether we are just paying closer attention. Spoiler: the answer is not particularly reassuring. Grab a bev and tune in!

Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) is not going anywhere — at least not yet — and the calls for him to step aside are getting louder by the day.

Miller sat down with CNN's Jake Tapper on Tuesday in a nearly 30-minute interview in which he denied all allegations and repeatedly compared his situation to the scrutiny Trump faced in 2016, arguing that pushing through adversity is a quality voters admire. Tapper pressed him on accusations from multiple women. The interview drew mixed reactions within the party, with some Republicans privately expressing frustration at how it went and others remaining supportive. Miller has denied all allegations of domestic abuse.

Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) added his voice to the chorus Thursday, calling on Miller to resign his House seat and step away from his fall re-election bid. "I do not see how a campaign for Congress benefits any of them," Husted wrote on X, referring to Miller, his ex-wife and their daughter. "I believe Max would be making the right decision to step aside as a candidate and resign from Congress to focus on what is in the best interest of his daughter."

Trump, asked about the situation at a White House signing event Thursday, declined to weigh in directly. "I'm not going to get involved in that," he told reporters, describing it as a "very sad situation" while stopping short of calling on Miller to resign or withdraw. Miller told Tapper that Trump called him Monday morning and told him it was going to be a tough race.

The window for Ohio Republicans to do anything about this is closing fast. The first deadline passed on August 5, meaning a special primary is no longer on the table. Miller now has until the close of business August 10 to withdraw, which would allow county Republican party chairs to select a replacement candidate.

Miller has made his position clear. "I'm not getting out of this race, and I'm winning in November," he said on X.

It has been a rough week for Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), and it is not over yet.

On Wednesday, Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and Mike Haridopolos (R-Fla.) announced they are backing his primary challenger, Ryan Elijah — the former Orlando news anchor running against Mills ahead of the August 18 primary. The statement did not mention Mills by name, but it didn’t really need to.

“We need leaders in Congress who serve with integrity, energy, and an unwavering commitment to the people who sent them there,” the lawmakers wrote.

“Ryan Elijah is an excellent candidate and clearly has the support of leaders in the community. A true family man who can win BIG in November,” Haridopolos told us in a text.

Elijah welcomed the backing.

“I’m honored to have the endorsements of two Florida Representatives I deeply respect. They understand what’s at stake in our congressional race and know I’m the clear choice to win in November,” the candidate told us.

Mills faced off against Elijah and fellow Republican challengers Michael Don Johnson and Sarah Ulrich in a primary debate Wednesday night, and things definitely got feisty.

After Elijah pressed Mills on why he skipped a Byron Donalds fundraiser in his own backyard last week, Mills told him “we can take this outside,” according to Elijah, who posted about the exchange on X afterward.

“Why? Because he’s a distraction. He hasn’t raised any money, so it definitely wasn’t a fundraiser!” Elijah wrote.

Throughout the debate, Mills struggled to answer questions about his mounting legal troubles. When confronted with FEC records showing just $81,000 cash on hand, he insisted his fundraising was strong and noted he plans to self-fund.

The debate performance comes as Mills faces an active House Ethics investigation covering allegations of campaign finance violations, sexual misconduct, improper gifts, financial disclosure violations, and misuse of congressional resources. He is also the subject of a DOJ inquiry first reported by MS NOW, alongside allegations of soliciting sex workers, a lapsed restraining order from a former girlfriend, and unpaid rent. Mills has denied all of the allegations.

This week we are going with the Vieux Carré — it’s complicated, layered and a little too much (like most of these stories)!