Former Rep. Matt Gaetz is firing back after the House Ethics Committee released a damning report accusing him of serious misconduct, including having sex with a 17-year-old girl while in Congress. The report also claims Gaetz regularly paid women for sex and used illegal drugs during his time in office.
Gaetz, who was once a rising star in the Republican Party, lashed out at the Ethics Committee, accusing them of timing the report’s release to bury the scandal during the holiday season and complained that he wasn’t given the opportunity to challenge the evidence in a courtroom.
“ANOTHER ONE of the ethics witnesses who was an alleged ‘prostitute’ claims she was indeed NOT when actually pressed in a deposition,” Gaetz ranted on X. “This won’t be in the “ethics” report because of course.”
In a second post, he added: “Giving funds to someone you are dating – that they didn’t ask for – and that isn’t “charged” for sex is now prostitution?!?”
“There is a reason they did this to me in a Christmas Eve-Eve report and not in a courtroom of any kind where I could present evidence and challenge witnesses,” Gaetz wrote, referring to the committee’s decision to publish the report during the holiday season.
The Ethics Committee’s 42-page report, made public Monday, cites “substantial evidence” that Gaetz violated House rules and federal laws. It alleges that Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old girl in 2017, and that he paid women for sex multiple times while serving in Congress. The report also reveals that Gaetz used illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, on multiple occasions from 2017 to 2019. Additionally, the report details Gaetz’s acceptance of gifts, including an expensive 2018 trip to the Bahamas, which violated House gift rules.
The committee concluded that Gaetz’s actions “reflected discreditably upon the House” and broke several laws, including those prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, and illicit drug use. They also found evidence suggesting Gaetz arranged for women to be transported across state lines for commercial sex. However, the committee noted that they could not confirm the women were underage or coerced into sex.
Despite the serious findings, Gaetz continues to deny the allegations. In his social media posts, he claimed some key witnesses in the investigation contradicted the committee’s claims, accusing the Ethics Committee of cherry-picking testimonies to fit their narrative.
You can read the full report below via Scribd:
