The House Ethics Committee unveiled its report into the past conduct of former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Dec. 23 after he filed a last-minute lawsuit in federal court to block its release.
Gaetz has denied wrongdoing.
The committee voted on Dec. 10 on whether to release the report publicly. Several members voted against releasing the report but the majority were in favor of its release.
The report alleges that Gaetz paid tens of thousands of dollars to women for drugs or sex in at least 20 instances but that investigators did not find sufficient evidence to conclude that Gaetz had violated the federal sex trafficking statute. The report noted that Gaetz had declined a voluntary interview.
The committee investigators wrote that they found substantial evidence that Gaetz regularly paid women for sexual activity between 2017 and 2020. The report alleges he engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl in 2017; possessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and MDMA, also known as ecstasy, between 2017 and 2019; accepted gifts, including transportation and lodging related to a 2018 Bahamas trip; and sought to impede and obstruct the committee’s investigation.
The committee cited potential violations of federal and state laws, including regulations that prohibit obstruction of Congress and tampering with witnesses in a congressional proceeding, and Florida law that makes unauthorized possession of controlled substances a criminal offense.
The committee said the Department of Justice originally instructed it to defer its review until the department had completed its investigation. In February 2023 the committee resuming its investigation after the DOJ closed its investigation into Gaetz without bringing charges.
The Epoch Times contacted the House Ethics Committee and Guest for comment. The ethics committee declined to comment.
“Not even a campaign finance violation. And the people investigating me hated me,” Gaetz wrote. “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. I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18. Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court—which is why no such claim was ever made in court. 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.”
Now that Gaetz has resigned from Congress, he argued in the lawsuit that the House Ethics Committee is reaching beyond its constitutional authority because it lacks jurisdiction over him as a private citizen. His attorneys maintain the report includes “untruthful and defamatory information” that could “significantly damage” Gaetz’s standing and reputation.
Gaetz’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, names the Ethics Committee and its chair, Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.), as defendants.
“The Committee’s apparent intention to release its report after explicitly acknowledging it lacks jurisdiction over former members, its failure to follow constitutional notions of due process, and failure to adhere to its own procedural rules and precedent represents an unprecedented overreach that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections,” Gaetz’s attorneys wrote.
The committee has said its singular mission is to “protect the integrity of the House.”
The Epoch Times has reached out Gaetz’s attorneys for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
