Matt Gaetz, one of Donald Trump’s closest allies in Washington, has been accused of “regularly” paying women, including a 17-year-old girl, for sex and purchasing and using illicit drugs, all while serving in Congress.
The 37-page report by the bipartisan ethics committee includes explicit details of sex-filled parties and holidays that Gaetz, now 42, took part in.
The findings conclude that he violated multiple state laws related to sexual misconduct while in office.
Some of the findings of the report include:
- He “regularly” paid women for sex between 2017 and 2020, including with one girl who was 17 at the time.
- He used and possessed several drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy multiple times between 2017 and 2019.
- He arranged for a member of his staff to help a woman he was involved with sexually to obtain a passport, falsely indicating to the US Department of State that she was a constituent.
“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 favours or privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” the report states.
The report brings to a close a nearly five-year investigation into Gaetz.
Its release comes after at least one Republican joined five Democrats on the panel earlier this month in a secret vote to release the report about their former colleague, despite initial opposition from politicians, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, to publishing findings about a former member of Congress.
While ethics reports have previously been released after a member’s resignation, they are extremely rare. Gaetz has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing, saying last week that he would have “no opportunity to debate or rebut” the findings as a former member of the House.
He served as a Congressman for Florida’s first congressional district from 2017 until 2024 when he resigned shortly after Trump’s election victory.
Despite comfortably winning reelection in his seat, he quit when Trump nominated him to become the US attorney general.
But days later he withdrew his name from consideration for the role after speculation about the contents of the committee’s report grew.
He had the opportunity to retain his seat after declining Trump’s offer, but Gaetz decided to leave Congress.
On Monday, Gaetz filed a lawsuit seeking to block the report’s release, saying it contains “untruthful and defamatory information” that would “significantly damage” his “standing and reputation in the community.”
Gaetz’s complaint argues he’s no longer under the committee’s jurisdiction since he resigned from Congress.
“The Committee’s position that it may nonetheless publish potentially defamatory findings about a private citizen over whom it claims no jurisdiction represents an unprecedented expansion of Congressional power that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections,” Gaetz’s lawyers wrote in their request for a temporary restraining order.
The often secretive, bipartisan panel has investigated claims against Gaetz since 2021.
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