In an almost unprecedented move, the House Ethics Committee released a statement on Tuesday confirming that the Investigation The investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use against Republican Matt Gaetz of Florida is ongoing.
Pursuant to Committee Rule 7, the Committee on Ethics (Committee) has decided to issue the following statement:
On April 9, 2021, the committee announced that it had opened an investigation into allegations that Representative Matt Gaetz may have engaged in sexual assault and/or illegal drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused government identification documents, used campaign funds for personal purposes, and/or accepted bribes, improper gratuities, or improper gifts in violation of House rules, law, or other standards of conduct. The committee postponed its consideration of the matter at the request of the Department of Justice (DOJ). In May 2023, the committee reauthorized its investigation after the DOJ withdrew its request to postpone.
There has been a significant and unusual amount of public reporting on the Committee’s activities during this Congress. Many of these reports have been incorrect. The Committee’s investigations are conducted confidentially, but the Committee’s confidentiality rules do not prohibit witnesses from disclosing information about the Committee’s inquiries or conversations with the Committee’s investigators. The Committee is confident in the integrity of its process.
Representative Gaetz has categorically denied all of the allegations before the Committee. Despite the difficulties in obtaining relevant information from Representative Gaetz and others, the Committee has spoken to more than a dozen witnesses, issued 25 subpoenas, and reviewed thousands of pages of documents related to this matter. Based on its review to date, the Committee has determined that certain of the allegations merit further review. During the course of its investigation, the Committee has also identified additional allegations that warrant review.
Accordingly, pursuant to Committee Rules 14(a)(3) and 18(a), the Committee is considering allegations that Representative Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and illegal drug use, accepted inappropriate gifts, granted special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and attempted to obstruct government investigations into his conduct. The Committee will not take further action at this time on allegations that he may have shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused government identification documents, used campaign funds for personal purposes, and/or accepted bribes or inappropriate gratuities.
The Committee notes that the mere fact that these allegations are being investigated does not mean that a violation has occurred. No further public comment will be made on this matter except in accordance with Committee rules.
The announcement appears to be a reaction to Leaks by committee witnesses and Gaetz’s attack on the process.
In recent weeks, investigators from the House Ethics Committee have conducted a series of closed-door interviews with numerous women who testified in the Justice Department’s years-long investigation into sex trafficking. Rep. Matt GaetzSeveral sources familiar with the committee’s work told ABC News.
Investigators have interviewed at least half a dozen women who allegedly attended parties attended by the Florida congressman, and were paid by Joel GreenbergGaetz’s former close friend, Greenberg, was sentenced to 11 years in a federal prison in 2022 after pleading guilty to several charges, including sex trafficking of minors and introducing the minors to other “adult males,” sources tell ABC News.
The House Ethics Committee has closed four investigations into me based on lies designed solely to defame me. Instead of working with me to ban stock trading in Congress, the Ethics Committee is now launching fresh, frivolous investigations. They are doing this to avoid…
– Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) June 17, 2024
The House Ethics Committee has closed four investigations into me based on lies designed solely to defame me. Instead of working with me to ban stock trading in Congress, the Ethics Committee is now opening fresh, frivolous investigations. They are doing this to avoid the obvious fact that every investigation into me ends the same way: with my exoneration.
This is Soviet. Kevin McCarthy showed them the man, and now they’re trying to solve the crime. I work for Northwest Floridians who aren’t swayed by this nonsense, and McCarthy and his henchmen know it.
What does the former speaker mean Kevin McCarthy to do with?
“I will tell you the truth why I am not a speaker,” McCarthy saidat an event at Georgetown University in Washington.
“Because one person, a member of Congress, wanted me to drop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year-old, an ethics complaint that was filed before I even became Speaker. And that is illegal and I will not get involved in that.
“Did he do it or not? I don’t know. But ethics investigated it. Other people are in prison because of it. And he wanted me to influence it.”
The House ethics investigation into the allegations against Gaetz began in 2021, when Democrat Nancy Pelosi was speaker.
The House investigation was paused when the U.S. Department of Justice investigated Gaetz for sex trafficking, alleging that he paid for sex and had sex with an underage woman. In December 2022, Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector whose arrest led to the investigation into Gaetz, sentenced to 11 years in prison for crimes including sex trafficking of minors.
In February 2023, prosecutors announced they would not file charges, and the House ethics investigation was subsequently reopened.
Gaetz denies wrongdoing. On Tuesday told Politico: “Kevin is a liar. That’s actually the reason he’s not speaker. Just ask any of the 224 people who voted to remove him.”
While this will not affect Gaetz’s chances for re-election – Florida’s 1st District is R+30 – he is in great danger from the Ethics Committee, which can impose penalties ranging from an furious look of disapproval to expulsionGaetz has no friends on this committee.
