House Ethics Committee Finds Substantial Evidence Against Matt Gaetz in Sex Trafficking and Ethics Violations

 

A House Ethics Committee report has found significant evidence implicating former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz in sex trafficking, statutory rape, and other severe violations of state laws and congressional ethics. The report, which followed a three-year investigation, highlights a range of misconduct allegations, including payments for sex, drug use, and obstruction of justice.

The Republican-led committee's report reveals that Gaetz allegedly:

• Paid tens of thousands of dollars to women for sex and drugs over 20 separate occasions.
• Engaged in statutory rape by paying for sex with a 17-year-old in 2017, when he was 35 years old.
• Used platforms like Venmo and PayPal to transfer funds to more than a dozen women during his tenure in Congress.
• Violated House ethics rules by purchasing marijuana through a pseudonymous email account.
• Used illicit drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, between 2017 and 2020.

Additionally, the report details a 2018 trip to the Bahamas where Gaetz allegedly used ecstasy and engaged in sexual activity with multiple women, with the trip itself serving as “payment” for sexual services.

The committee accused Gaetz of willfully obstructing the investigation by:

• Failing to comply with subpoenas.
• Withholding evidence.
• Providing misleading responses.
• Making false public statements about evidence he never produced.

Gaetz has consistently denied the allegations. His legal team is fighting to prevent the report's public release, claiming it would cause “immediate, severe, and irreversible” damage to his reputation. Gaetz maintains his innocence, asserting he was never criminally charged after a Department of Justice investigation into some of these claims was dropped.

In a social media post, Gaetz condemned the Ethics Committee's decision to release the report, calling the process biased and criticizing the lack of opportunity for rebuttal. He admitted to partying and womanizing during his 30s but insisted his actions were not criminal.

The findings come after Gaetz’s abrupt resignation from Congress following his nomination by former President Donald Trump for attorney general. The nomination sparked bipartisan criticism, with many questioning Gaetz’s suitability for the role.

While the Ethics Committee initially voted along party lines against releasing the report, it later reversed its decision, drawing attention from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

The fallout from the report underscores lingering divisions within Congress and raises questions about accountability and transparency in addressing allegations against high-ranking officials.