House Ethics Committee finds Trump ally Matt Gaetz violated laws, paid for sex and drugs

The House Ethics Committee has found evidence that former Rep. Matt Gaetz paid tens of thousands of dollars for sex or drugs on at least 20 occasions, including a payment to a 17-year-old girl for sex in 2017.

According to a CNN report, the final draft of the panel’s report on the Florida Republican concluded that Gaetz violated Florida state laws, including the statutory rape law, as the GOP-led panel chose to take the rare step of releasing a report about a former member who resigned from Congress.

“The Committee determined there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” CNN quoted panel investigators as writing in the report.

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The panel investigated transactions made by Gaetz, often via PayPal or Venmo, to over a dozen women during his congressional tenure. The report also highlighted a 2018 trip to the Bahamas, where he allegedly violated House gift rules and engaged in sexual activities with multiple women, including one who claimed the trip itself was “payment” for sex. Additionally, he reportedly took ecstasy during this trip.

Earlier this month, the House Ethics Committee secretly voted to release its report after initially deciding against it, despite opposition from Chairman Michael Guest, a Mississippi Republican. This vote marked the end of a lengthy investigation into Gaetz, who was once considered for attorney general by President-elect Donald Trump but withdrew amid GOP opposition and reports of ethics violations.

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The release of the report could have lasting political implications, targeting a long-time Trump loyalist now affiliated with One America Network.

In response, Gaetz filed a civil complaint in federal court to stop the report’s release, claiming he was not informed of the committee’s decision and did not receive the relevant materials.

“As such, Plaintiff has been afforded no opportunity to respond to any report or investigative conclusions of Defendants,” CNN quoted the complaint as saying.

“Plaintiff has frequently and vehemently declared his innocence regarding the alleged misconduct, and requested Defendants cease their investigation and provide him appropriate due process rights,” the complaint read.

Gaetz then claims the panel has been “unresponsive” to those demands.

Gaetz has consistently denied any wrongdoing, highlighting the Justice Department’s decision not to charge him in 2023.

In a statement on X last week, following reports about the committee’s vote to release the report, Gaetz denied engaging in sexual activity with a minor or paying women for sex.

“In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated - even some I never dated but who asked. I dated several of these women for years,” Gaetz said.

“It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now.”

Although the committee alleged that Gaetz violated state laws, the panel wrote that it did not find Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws, writing that “although Representative Gaetz did cause the transportation of women across state lines for purposes of commercial sex, the Committee did not find evidence that any of those women were under 18 at the time of travel, nor did the Committee find sufficient evidence to conclude that the commercial sex acts were induced by force, fraud, or coercion”, reported CNN

The report documents the evidence the committee gathered of Gaetz’s numerous interactions with women who say they were paid for sex by Gaetz and his friend, Joel Greenberg, a former Seminole County tax collector who is serving an 11-year prison sentence and cooperated with federal investigators.

The committee wrote that it spoke to more than a half dozen witnesses who attended parties, trips and events with Gaetz between 2017 through 2020.

“Nearly every young woman that the Committee interviewed confirmed that she was paid for sex by, or on behalf of, Representative Gaetz,” CNN quoted the panel as saying.

One of the sexual encounters involved a 17-year-old girl, the committee said. The woman told the committee she had sex with Gaetz twice at a July 2017 party when she was 17. CNN first reported on the second sexual encounter last month.

“The Committee received testimony that Victim A and Representative Gaetz had sex twice during the party, including at least once in the presence of other party attendees,” the committee wrote. “Victim A recalled receiving $400 in cash from Representative Gaetz that evening, which she understood to be payment for sex. At the time, she had just completed her junior year of high school.”

The then-17-year-old did not tell Gaetz she was a minor at the time, and he did not ask her age, the committee found. The committee did not receive any evidence Gaetz was aware of her age. The woman told congressional investigators she was under the influence of ecstasy at the party and that she recalled seeing Gaetz use cocaine at the party.

Gaetz has denied having sex with a minor. “I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18,” the Florida Republican wrote on X last week.

“Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court - which is why no such claim was ever made in court.”

With inputs from agencies