A former US lawmaker who was Donald Trump’s first choice to run the Justice Department repeatedly paid for sex, including with an underage girl, according to a congressional report to be released later Monday.
Matt Gaetz also used illegal drugs, including in his Capitol Hill office, according to the 37-page document obtained by CBS News and CNN, which is the culmination of a long-running investigation by the House Ethics Committee.
Panel investigators wrote, “The Committee determined that there was substantial evidence that Representative Matt Gaetz engaged in prostitution, statutory rape, illegal drug use, unacceptable gifts, special favors or privileges, and violation of House rules and obstruction of Congress.” Violated other standards of conduct.” Report.
Matt Gaetz has repeatedly denied wrongdoing — pointing to the Justice Department’s decision not to bring charges against him in 2023 after a criminal investigation — and is suing the committee to block its release. .
Congressional investigators found that the 42-year-old man broke multiple Florida laws on sexual misconduct, though they cleared him of federal sex trafficking violations.
The panel voted in secret to release its report after initially deciding not to do so.
Investigators listed payments of more than $90,000 by Gaetz to 12 women between 2017 and 2020 “possibly in connection with sexual activity and/or drug use.”
They focused on a 2018 trip to the Bahamas, during which Gaetz is accused of having sex with four women and taking ecstasy at a party.
The former congressman is a fiery figure with few friends on Capitol Hill, but he was a staunch Trump loyalist and a favorite of the president-elect’s fervent supporters.
He resigned from Congress in November after Trump nominated him for US Attorney General.
‘Partied, became a woman, drank alcohol’
The allegations were discussed openly for years and when it became clear that he did not have enough support from Republicans to win Senate confirmation, Gaetz withdrew from consideration.
Gaetz was not immediately available for comment, but in a statement last week he denied having sex with a minor or paying women for sex.
Gaetz said, “In my single days, I would often send money to women I dated – even some I never dated, but who asked. I have dated many of these women over the years. Dated till.”
“It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied more in my life than ever before, behaved like a woman, drank and smoked. I live a different life now.”
The women told congressional investigators they were paid for sex at those events between 2017 and 2020, leading to Gaetz and his friend Joel Greenberg, the former Florida tax collector who was jailed for 11 years.
One encounter allegedly involved a 17-year-old girl, who told the committee she had sex with Gaetz twice at a July 2017 party, CNN reported.
According to media outlets, the report states, “Victim A recalled receiving $400 in cash from Representative Gaetz that evening, which she assumed was payment for sex. At the time, she had just completed her junior year of high school Was.”
All of the women who testified said that the sexual relationships with Gaetz were consensual, CBS reports. Gaetz denied having sex with a minor in a written response to the committee.
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