Ethics Committee to release Matt Gaetz findings, reports say
Reports say the Ethics Committee has changed course and will release findings on former Congressman Matt Gaetz’s sexual misconduct allegations.
WASHINGTON − The House Ethics Committee on Monday released a damaging report alleging there is “substantial evidence” former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., participated in “prostitution, statutory rape, (and) illicit drug use.”
“The record overwhelmingly suggests that Representative Gaetz had sex with multiple women” at a 2017 Florida party, “including the then-17-year-old, for which they were paid,” the report said
Gaetz attacked the report in a series of posts on X, writing, “Giving funds to someone you are dating – that they didn’t ask for – and that isn’t ‘charged’ for sex is now prostitution?!?” He has long denied having sex with anyone under age.
Gaetz was President-elect Donald Trump’s initial choice to serve as U.S. Attorney General in his next term. Gaetz withdrew his name last month as questions swirled about the ethics report.
Read the House Ethics Committee Report into Matt Gaetz
Strong allegations
The Ethics Committee report alleged that:
- From at least 2017 to 2020, Gaetz “regularly” paid women for sex.
- From 2017 to 2019, Gaetz “used or possessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, on multiple occasions.”
- Gaetz “accepted gifts, including transportation and lodging in connection with a 2018 trip to the Bahamas, in excess of permissible amounts.”
- In 2018, Gaetz had his chief of staff help a sexual partner obtain a passport, “falsely indicating to the U.S. Department of State that she was a constituent.”
- Gaetz “knowingly and willfully sought to impede and obstruct the Committee’s investigation of his conduct.”
