WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee accused Matt Gaetz on Monday of “regularly” paying for sex, including once with a 17-year-old girl, and of purchasing and using illegal drugs as a member of Congress, according to lawmakers Conclusions released from a nearly four-year investigation that helped thwart his appointment as attorney general.
The bipartisan panel’s 37-page report contains explicit details about sex parties and vacations that Gaetz, now 42, attended from 2017 to 2020 while the Republican represented Florida’s Western Panhandle.
Congressional investigators concluded that Gaetz violated several state laws related to sexual misconduct during his time in office, but not federal sex trafficking laws. They also found that Gaetz “knowingly and willfully attempted to obstruct and obstruct the work of the committee.”
“The Committee concluded that there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House rules and other standards of conduct that prohibit prostitution, statutory rape, illegal drug apply, improper gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress “, says the report.
Before the report came out, Gaetz denied any wrongdoing and criticized the committee’s process.
“Giving someone you’re dating money that they didn’t ask for and that isn’t ‘charged’ for sex is now prostitution?!?” He posted on X, the website formerly known as Twitter was known. “There’s a reason they did this to me in a report on Christmas Eve and not in a courtroom where I could present evidence and challenge witnesses.”
Gaetz, who was first elected in 2017, spent most of his time in Washington and was embroiled in scandals that ultimately derailed his selection by President-elect Donald Trump to head the Justice Department. Gaetz abruptly resigned from Congress last month. His political future is uncertain, although Gaetz has expressed interest in running for the open Senate seat in Florida.
The committee painted a damning picture of Gaetz’s behavior and used dozens of pages of evidence, including text messages, financial records, travel receipts, checks and online payments, to document a lifestyle filled with partying and drugs. The committee said it compiled the evidence after issuing 29 subpoenas for documents and testimony and contacting more than two dozen witnesses.
In addition to promoting prostitution, Gaetz “accepted gifts, including transportation and lodging in connection with a trip to the Bahamas in 2018, in excess of allowable amounts,” according to the report.
That same year, investigators say, Gaetz caused an associate to obtain a passport for a woman with whom he had sexual relations, falsely representing to the State Department that she was his constituent.
In some of the text messages released, he appeared to invite various women to events, getaways or parties and to arrange air travel and accommodations. At one point he asked a woman if she had a “cute black dress” to wear. There were also discussions about shipping goods.
One of the exhibits was a text exchange that appeared to take place between two women who were concerned about their cash flow and payments. In another case, a person asked Gaetz for facilitate paying a training expense.
As for the 17-year-old girl, the report said there was no evidence that Gaetz knew she was underage when he had sex with her. The woman told the committee that she did not tell Gaetz that she was under 18 at the time and that he learned she was underage more than a month after the party.
But Gaetz remained in contact with her afterward, meeting her again for “commercial sex” less than six months after she turned 18, according to the committee. Florida law states that it is a felony for a person age 24 or older to have sex with a minor. The law does not allow the defense of ignorance or misrepresentation of a minor’s age.
Joel Leppard, who represents two women who told the committee that Gaetz paid them for sex, said the findings “corroborate” his clients’ accounts and “prove their credibility.”
“We appreciate the Committee on Transparency’s commitment to releasing this comprehensive report so the truth can come to light,” Leppard said in a statement.
At least one Republican joined all five Democrats on the committee in voting to release the report earlier this month, although Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, initially opposed releasing findings about a former member of Congress.
Although ethics reports have been published after a member leaves, this is extremely infrequent.
On behalf of Republicans who voted against releasing the report, the committee’s chairman, Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, wrote that while members did not question the findings, “we take great exception to the fact that the majority of.” deviated from the committee’s established views. Standards” to stop any investigation if a person is no longer a member of the chamber.
Guest added that the release of this report sets a precedent that “represents a dangerous step with potentially catastrophic consequences.”
But Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland, a Democratic member of the committee, said it was critical to transparency that the public and Congress as an institution read the results.
“I think it’s important for my colleagues here in the House to know how the committee reviews certain actions,” he told The Associated Press. “Some of these were obviously transgressive behavior, but some were not.”
Gaetz made a final attempt to stop the report’s release, filing a lawsuit Monday asking a federal court to intervene. He cited “untrue and defamatory information” that would “significantly damage his image and reputation in society.” Gaetz’s complaint argued that he was no longer subject to the committee’s jurisdiction because he had resigned from Congress.
The often secretive, non-partisan committee has been investigating allegations against Gaetz since 2021. But his work became more urgent last month when Trump named him the nation’s top law enforcement official shortly after Election Day on Nov. 5. Gaetz resigned from Congress on the same day, thereby removing himself from the committee’s jurisdiction.
But Democrats had pushed for the report to be released even after Gaetz was no longer in the House and withdrew from consideration for Trump’s Cabinet. A House vote this month to force the report’s release failed; all but one Republican voted against it.
The committee detailed its investigation, which began in recent years and was paused for a time when the Justice Department conducted its own investigation into Gaetz. The federal prosecutor’s office never initiated proceedings against him.
Deputies said they asked the Justice Department for information about its investigation, but the agency refused to release information, saying it does not share information about investigations that do not lead to charges.
The committee then summoned the department to inspect the files. After a back-and-forth between department officials and the committee, the department only turned over “publicly reported information regarding the statement of a deceased person,” according to the committee’s report.
The report said Gaetz was “uncooperative” throughout the committee’s investigation. It said he had provided “only minimal documents” in response to the committee’s inquiries. “He also did not agree to a voluntary interview.”
___ Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.
