A Congressional ethics investigation uncovered a number of instances of illegal activity by now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida while he held office.
The report, made public Monday despite a suit by Gaetz seeking to block its release, said he paid multiple women for sex, including a 17-year-old girl, and both purchased and used illegal drugs, committing some of these offenses from his office at the Capitol.
“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 favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” the report says, according to CBS News.
Gaetz, a Republican, ended his tenure in Washington after it was announced that President-Elect Donald Trump sought to nominate him for Attorney General. Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration just a week after Trump’s plan was publicized amid opposition from both sides of the aisle.
Among the most eye-popping of the allegations in the federal committee’s report: A girl, only identified as “Victim A,” said Gaetz had sex with her twice at a 2017 party when she was 17 and had just finished her junior year in high school.
“Victim A recalled receiving $400 in cash from Representative Gaetz that evening, which she understood to be payment for sex,” the committee wrote. “Victim A said that she did not inform Representative Gaetz that she was under 18 at the time, nor did he ask her age.”
The report alleges several instances of Gaetz attending drug- and sex-fueled parties.
“From 2017 to 2020, Representative Gaetz made tens of thousands of dollars in payments to women that the Committee determined were likely in connection with sexual activity and/or drug use,” the report says, citing payments to 12 separate women totaling over $90,000.
Gaetz had sued to keep the findings private since he was no longer an elected official and now a private citizen. He declined to sit for an interview with the committee, though he submitted written responses to some of the committee’s questions. He has called the investigation a smear campaign perpetrated by his political enemies.