ReutersFormer Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz spent tens of thousands of dollars on sex and drugs during his time as a member of the US Congress, according to a long-awaited report from the ethics committee of the House of Representatives.
Following a years-long investigation into alleged sexual misconduct and illegal drug use by Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump sought to become attorney general.
The committee also found evidence that Gaetz, 42, received gifts in excess of the allowable amount in connection with a 2018 trip to the Bahamas.
The former lawyer has repeatedly denied that he made a mistake, saying he was the victim of a smear campaign. During this controversy, he withdrew from consideration to become US attorney general.
The congressional ethics report found that “there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House rules and other ethical standards that prohibit prostitution, statutory rape, illegal drug use, prohibited gifts, special gifts or privileges, and obstruction of Congress.”
From 2017 to 2020, Gaetz made payments of more than $90,000 (£72,000) to 12 different women “which the Committee may have determined were related to sex and/or drug use”, the report found.
Additionally, the report contains evidence that Gaetz paid for sex with a 17-year-old at a party in 2017, giving her $400 “which he understood to be payment for sex”. Gaetz denied having sex with the minor.
The Department of Justice also investigated allegations that he had sex with a minor but ultimately did not file criminal charges against him.
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 a private citizen.
The committee's 42-page report accused Gaetz of being “uncooperative” during its review, and that he frequently “disobeyed, obstructed, or misled” the panel “to prevent his actions from being exposed”.
Despite being subpoenaed, he did not appear before the committee to testify.
Gaetz represented Florida's 1st congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, having taken office in the same 2016 election that propelled his running mate Trump to the White House for the first time.
Gaetz married in 2021 his current wife, Ginger, who has supported the former Florida congressman as he faces the allegations.
She posted a photo on X of her husband with the caption “being unemployed has never looked so good” after he withdrew his nomination to serve as attorney general after resigning from Congress.
Gaetz It is believed to have been beyond the authority of the committee when he resigned from Congress last month, following his nomination by Trump to serve as US attorney general – America's top law enforcement official who heads the Justice Department.
Trump chose Gaetz in part because he is the most credible and committed to taking on the “armed” legal system that supporters believe is aimed at Trump.
He has been one of Trump's staunchest defenders on Capitol Hill. But many Republicans in Congress, including those tasked with voting on such nominations, were shocked by the selection and successfully challenged it.
Gaetz stepped down eight days after Trump's nomination amid an outpouring of controversy. Trump then nominated former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as his attorney general nominee.
Trump has yet to comment on the report's findings.
Although it is unusual for the committee to release its findings after a member of the legislature has left public office, the report indicated that “the majority” of members found that it was in the public interest to do so.
There has been heated debate over whether or not the report should be released, especially after Gaetz recused himself from a review of the Justice Department's role.
He said he hoped to avoid “a protracted Washington conflict”.
Gaetz's role as attorney general was one that required the confirmation of US members, and it was not clear that he had the necessary support.
The secret ethics committee has been investigating Gaetz since 2021 — not only on sex and drug-related allegations, but also on allegations of accepting bribes and misusing campaign funds. In all cases, he strongly denied any wrongdoing.
House Republicans previously blocked efforts by Democrats to release the report's findings, but two of them later voted to do so, according to CBS.
On Monday, Gaetz wrote to X that the committee chose to release the report so close to Christmas “and not in any kind of courtroom where I can present evidence and challenge witnesses”.
Last week, he wrote that the ethics committee planned to “put a report on the Internet that I have no opportunity to discuss or object as a former member of the body.”
He admitted in a previous post on X that his 30s were a period of “working hard – and playing hard too”.
“It is shameful, although not a criminal, that I probably went to parties, became women, drank and smoked more than I should have done in the beginning of life,” he wrote. “I live a different life now.”
Many House Democrats criticized their former colleague and Trump for choosing him as a ally.
Rep. Glenn Ivey, one of five Democrats on the ethics committee, said the allegations against Gaetz show a pattern of Trump “not putting people in those positions who are really willing to do the job”.
“President-elect Trump should have thought twice before appointing Matt Gaetz and his other appointments, I think it will be reconsidered,” he told CBS News, the BBC's American partner.
Since leaving Congress, Gaetz has signed a contract to anchor One America News Network (OAN). He will join the conservative news network in January.
He has also started selling personalized video messages on the video platform Cameo.
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