The House Ethics Committee’s report on former Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz found “substantial evidence” that he paid for sex with minors, in serious violation of state law and Congressional rules. Found it.
The investigation concluded that Gates, President Trump’s first nominee for attorney general, paid women totaling tens of thousands of dollars for sex and drugs on at least 20 occasions. The report also says that in 2017, when Gaetz was 35 years old, he paid a 17-year-old girl for sex, which is statutory rape under Florida law.
“The committee finds that there is substantial evidence that Congressman Gates violated House rules and other standards of conduct that prohibit prostitution, statutory rape, illegal drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors and privileges, and obstruction of Congress. ,” the Republican-led committee wrote. investigation.
According to the report, Gaetz used payment apps like Venmo and PayPal to send money directly to more than a dozen women while he was a member of Congress.
The committee found that from 2017 to 2020, Gaetz appears to have regularly used illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, and to have set up a false email account from his House office to purchase marijuana, which is required by state law. and House Ethics Rules.
The committee found that Gaetz had failed to respond to subpoenas, withheld evidence, given misleading answers, and publicly lied about “vast amounts of documentary evidence” that he did not actually produce. They believe that he “deliberately and deliberately” tried to obstruct the investigation, including by making comments.
Investigators also highlighted a 2018 trip to the Bahamas where Gates allegedly “engaged in sexual activity” with multiple women. One woman told the committee that the trip itself became “payment” for sexual services. The same witness reported that Gaetz felt ecstasy during his visit to the Bahamas, which investigators determined was a violation of the House gift rules.
Meanwhile, Gaetz’s lawyers are fighting hard to keep the report from seeing the light of day, arguing in a new lawsuit Monday morning that “publication would seriously damage Plaintiff’s standing and reputation in the community.” claims. That would be an “immediate, serious and irreversible situation.” Gaetz has long maintained his innocence.
The report comes after more than three years of investigation and follows a furious committee’s early resolution not to release the findings of an investigation that began in spring 2021, when Gates was the subject of an FBI investigation. It represents the face.
The leak comes nearly a month after Gaetz withdrew President Trump’s nomination for attorney general amid intense backlash, in part due to speculation over the report’s contents.
The House investigation, which began after the Justice Department opened a separate criminal investigation against Gates that was later dropped without charges, was launched to look into a wide range of accusations.
These include his involvement in sexual misconduct and illegal drug use, sharing inappropriate images on the House floor, misuse of state ID, diversion of campaign funds for personal use, and House rules. The allegations include receiving gifts in violation of the law.
Gates has denied all allegations and effectively delayed the report’s release by abruptly resigning from Congress last month after President Trump nominated him to be attorney general in a decision that drew bipartisan condemnation. Ta.
But its contents were the subject of intense speculation, as both Republican and Democratic senators expressed serious concerns about Gaetz’s suitability to lead America’s vast federal judicial and law enforcement apparatus.
Some critics believe that Gaetz, a far-right congressman from Florida, had no choice but to allow the Senate to nominate him in order to block publication of the report, knowing that its contents were likely to be harmful. They accused him of prematurely resigning, long before he had a chance to approve or reject the decision.
The Ethics Committee initially refused to release the documents along party lines, despite some senators requesting to see them ahead of Senate confirmation hearings that were scheduled to be held early next year. voted against. Republican Party Chairman Mike Johnson, a close ally of President Trump, vocally opposed the release of the report.
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The change of heart is notable given that Gaetz later said he would not return to Congress after declining the nomination.
In a vitriolic social media post on Wednesday, Gaetz angrily denounced the commission’s revised decision, first reported by CNN, and noted that he had never been criminally charged.
“The Biden/Garland Department of Justice spent years investigating allegations that I committed various crimes,” he wrote.
“I wasn’t charged with anything, I was completely innocent. No campaign finance violations. And the people who were investigating me hated me.
“The very ‘witnesses’ that the Department of Justice deemed unreliable were then assembled by House Ethics to repeat their claims without cross-examination or challenge from me or my attorneys. I never had a chance to confront my accuser. I was never charged. I have never been sued.
“Instead, the House Ethics Committee will reportedly post its report online, with no opportunity for me to discuss or counter that report as a former member.”
He described his 30s (the age range in which the alleged cheating occurred) as a time of “work hard and play hard.”
“It’s not a crime, but it’s embarrassing that I probably partied, womanized, drank, and smoked more than I should have early in life.”
But he sharply criticized the current House chaos over the continuing resolution (CR) bill on public spending, which aims to keep the government open, saying, “At least I didn’t vote for a CR that would taint the country.” ” he concluded.
