Gaetz paid ‘tens of thousands’ for sex and drugs, ethics report says

Former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz spent thousands on drug deals while serving as a U.S. congressman, according to a long-awaited report from the House ethics committee.

It follows a years-long investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use by Gaetz, whom President-elect Donald Trump wanted to be the next president.

The committee also found evidence that Mr. Gaetz, 42, received gifts in excess of the authorized amount in connection with a trip to the Bahamas in 2018.

The former judge has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, saying he is the victim of a smear campaign. In the midst of the controversy, he gave up on the idea of ​​becoming US attorney general.

The congressional ethics report stated that “there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House rules and other laws prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, drug use, illegal gifts, favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress.”

From 2017 to 2020, Gaetz paid more than $90,000 (£72,000) to 12 different women “which the Committee identified as possibly related to sex and/or drug use,” the report found.

In addition, the report contains evidence that Gaetz paid for sex with a 17-year-old boy at a party in 2017, giving her $400 “which he knew was a payment for sex”. Gaetz has denied having sex with a minor.

The Ministry of Justice also investigated that he had sex with a minor but did not charge him with any crime.

In a last-minute court filing Monday, Gaetz sought a temporary restraining order to prevent the release of the report. He accused the ethics committee of trying to exercise its power over the common man.

The committee’s 42-page report accuses Gaetz of being “incoherent” in all of his investigations, and that he often “distorts, obstructs, or misleads” the group “to prevent his actions from being revealed”.

Although subpoenaed, he did not appear before the committee to testify.

Gaetz represented the first district of Congress in the Florida House of Representatives in the US, after coming to power in the same elections in 2016 that put his friend Trump in the White House for the first time.

Gaetz married in 2021 his current wife, Ginger, who supported the former Florida congressman when he faced the charges.

She posted a photo on X of her husband with the words “unemployment has never looked so good” after he withdrew his name to become attorney general after resigning from Congress.

Gaetz It is believed the committee did not reach out to him when he resigned from Congress last month, following his nomination by Mr Trump to become US attorney general – America’s top legal official who heads the Justice Department.

Trump chose Gaetz in part because he is a staunch loyalist who has also pledged to take the “armed” legal approach that supporters believe Trump wants.

He became one of Trump’s most vocal critics on Capitol Hill. But many Republicans in Congress, including those tasked with voting in such elections, were surprised by the decision and opposed it.

Gaetz resigned just eight days after Trump’s nomination amid controversy. Trump then selected former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi as his nominee for attorney general.

Trump has yet to comment on the report’s findings.

While it is unusual for the committee to release its findings after a representative has left office, the report indicated that a “majority” of members found it to be in the public interest to do so.

A great deal of controversy arose over whether or not to release the report, especially after Gaetz withdrew his name to join the Justice Department.

He said he hoped to avoid “unnecessary Washington conflict”.

Gaetz’s position as attorney general is one of those that requires confirmation by the US senators, and it does not appear that he had the necessary support.

The secretive ethics committee has been investigating Gaetz since 2021 — not only on sex and drug allegations, but also on allegations that he accepted bribes and misused campaign funds. In all cases, he strongly denied any wrongdoing.

House Republicans previously blocked efforts by Democrats to release the results of the report, but two of them voted to do so, according to CBS.

On Monday, Gaetz wrote on X that the committee decided to release the report near Christmas “and not in any kind of courtroom where I can testify and challenge witnesses”.

Last week, he wrote that the ethics committee planned to “post a report on the Internet that I have no opportunity to dispute or challenge as a former member of the organization.”

He admitted in previous posts on X that his 30s were a time of “working hard – and playing hard”.

“It is shameful, although not criminal, that I probably partied, womanised, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in my life,” he wrote. “I’m living a different life now.”

Several House Democrats criticized his former ally and Trump for choosing him as his running mate.

Rep. Glenn Ivey, one of the five Democrats on the ethics committee, said Gaetz’s objections show that there is a pattern of Trump “not putting people in office who are ready to do the job”.

“President-elect Trump should have thought twice before appointing Matt Gaetz and some of the names he’s made, and I think they might as well,” he told CBS News, the BBC’s US affiliate.

Since leaving Congress, Gaetz has signed a contract to anchor One America News Network (OAN). He will join the news team in January.

He has also started selling personalized video messages on the Cameo video platform.