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

Former Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz spent tens of thousands of dollars on sex and drugs while serving as a US congressman, according to a long-awaited report from the House Ethics Committee.

It comes after a years-long investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use by Gaetz, who President-elect Donald Trump wanted to be the nation’s top lawman.

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

The former MP has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, saying he is the victim of a smear campaign. Amid the controversy, he withdrew from his position to serve as US Attorney General.

The Congressional Ethics Report found that “there is substantial evidence that Rep. Gaetz violated the House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, rape, illegal drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress.”

The report found that from 2017 to 2020, Gaetz made payments totaling more than $90,000 (£72,000) to 12 different women who “the panel determined were likely to be related to sexual activity and/or drug use.”

Additionally, the report contains testimony that Gaetz paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl at a party in 2017, giving her $400 “which she understood to be money for sex.” Gaetz denied having sex with a minor.

The Justice Department also investigated an allegation that he had sex with a minor, but ultimately did not bring any criminal charges against him.

In a last-minute court filing on Monday, Gaetz sought a temporary restraining order to prevent publication of the report. He accused the Ethics Committee of trying to exercise its powers over an ordinary citizen.

The committee’s 42-page report accuses Gaetz of being “uncooperative” throughout the review period, and that he frequently “distracted, deterred, or misled” the committee “in order to prevent detection of his actions.”

Despite the subpoena, he never appeared before the committee to testify.

Gaetz represented Florida’s first congressional district in the US House of Representatives, after he came to power in the same 2016 elections that pushed his ally Trump to the White House for the first time.

In 2021, Gaetz married his current wife, Ginger, who supported the former Florida congressman as he faced these charges.

She posted a photo of her husband on X with the caption “Unemployment never looked so good” after he withdrew his name to serve as attorney general following his resignation from Congress.

Gates He was believed to be out of reach of the committee when he resigned from Congress last month, following his nomination by Trump to be US attorney general – America’s top law enforcement official who heads the Justice Department.

Trump chose Gaetz in part because he is so loyal and has also pledged to confront the “weaponized” legal system that supporters believe is targeting 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 horrified by the choice and successfully challenged it.

Gaetz withdrew from his position just eight days after being nominated by Trump amid a wave of controversy. Trump then chose former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as his nominee for Attorney General.

Trump has not yet commented on the report’s findings.

While it is unusual for a committee to release its findings after a lawmaker leaves public office, the report noted that a “majority” of members found it in the public interest to do so in this case.

A fierce debate erupted over whether the report should be published or not, especially after Gaetz withdrew his name from his nomination for the top job in the Department of Justice.

He said he hoped to avoid “an unnecessarily protracted quarrel in Washington.”

Gaetz’s intended role as attorney general was one that required confirmation by US senators, and he does not appear to have received the required support.

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

House Republicans previously blocked Democratic efforts to release the report’s findings, but two of them later voted to do so, according to CBS.

On Monday, Gaetz posted on X that the committee chose to release the report near Christmas “and not in a courtroom of any kind where I could present evidence and challenge witnesses.”

Last week, he posted that the Ethics Commission plans to “publish online a report that I as a former member of the panel have no opportunity to discuss or refute.”

He admitted in a previous post on X that his 30s were the era of “work hard – and play hard too”.

“It is embarrassing, though not criminal, that I may have been partying, turning into a woman, drinking and smoking too much earlier in my life,” he wrote. “I live a different life now.”

Many House Democrats criticized their former colleague and Trump for choosing him as an ally.

Rep. Glenn Ivey, one of five Democrats on the ethics committee, said the allegations against Gaetz show there is a pattern for Trump of not “putting people in those positions who are really willing to do the job.”

He told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, “President-elect Trump should have thought twice before nominating Matt Gaetz, and I think some of the other nominations he has made are worth reconsidering as well.”

Since leaving Congress, Gaetz has signed a deal to become an anchor on One America News Network (OAN). He will join the conservative news network in January.

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