A House Ethics Committee report accused former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz of paying women, including a 17-year-old girl, for sex and using illegal drugs during his time in Congress.
The report concluded that Gaetz violated Florida state laws including violations of statutory rape laws, House rules, and other ethical standards.
In a rare move, the House Ethics Committee released its findings, making the 42-page report and its subsequent evidence in the form of text messages, financial transactions, and witness testimony available to the public and online, reported CNN.
The investigation revealed that Gaetz or his friend, Joel Greenberg, paid women in over 20 instances using platforms like PayPal and Venmo for sexual hookups linked to "sugar dating" platforms like Seeking Arrangements.
This comes as Gaetz recently admitted to 'womanizing' more than he should have: "I often sent funds to women I dated."
The report accuses Gaetz of rampant drug use at parties, including a 2018 trip to the Bahamas where he allegedly used drugs and paid for sexual encounters.
Gaetz tried to block the release of the ethics report early Monday morning after excerpts from the report revealed ecstasy-fueled parties and paying women for sex.
One excerpt was published online on Bluesky that described how Gaetz's then-girlfriend acted as an intermediary between him and the women he paid for sex.
The committee said that in one instance, the girlfriend wrote to some women who was involved in sex-for-money arrangements that Gaetz and Greenberg claimed were limited in their cash flow for a particular weekend and wanted to know if they would be ok for a "customer appreciation week."
What the
— Catherine Rampell (@crampell.bsky.social) December 23, 2024 at 8:36 AM
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Gaetz denied the allegations and said he was denied due process and claimed the findings invaded his privacy.
Federal charges have not been filed against Gaetz.
Last Wednesday, Gaetz unveiled his plan to expose sexual misconduct allegations against Congress members in retaliation for the damning ethics probe.
Experts are speculating whether the damning report is the reason behind Gaetz withdrawing his name for the attorney general nomination after he attended meetings with senators to win their backing.
Gaetz is set to join One America News Network as an anchor in January.
