The House Ethics Committee has found that former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) paid a 17-year-old high school student for sex when he was 35 years old, used illegal drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy, and obstructed a congressional investigation. It found “substantial evidence” that it did. to his actions.
Their conclusion is as follows. The long-awaited report The report, released Monday, brings to an end the committee's years of on-and-off investigations into the former Florida congressman.
“The Committee finds that Congressman Gaetz is subject to the House Rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct that prohibit prostitution, statutory rape, illegal drug use, accepting impermissible gifts, providing special favors or privileges, and obstructing.'' “Congress concluded that there was substantial evidence that violations occurred,” the report said.
Gates has repeatedly denied having sexual contact with minors or any other wrongdoing. Gaetz said last week, ahead of the report's release, that he had engaged in “not criminal but embarrassing” conduct in the past.
Interest in the investigation peaked when President-elect Trump nominated Gates to be attorney general, and Gates abruptly resigned from Congress just before the committee was due to release its report. Gaetz withdrew his name from the AG's consideration the following week after opposition from Republican senators.
His departure from the House of Representatives has sparked debate over whether it is appropriate for the committee to take the unusual but unprecedented step of releasing its findings on the former lawmaker.
The Justice Department was also investigating whether Gaetz violated sex trafficking laws related to his cross-state travels with a 17-year-old girl, but the Justice Department did not indict Gaetz in 2023. refused to do so. The investigation stemmed from a separate investigation into former Florida tax collector Joel Greenberg. He is currently serving a sentence on charges including sex trafficking of minors and fraud, and was cooperating with the Justice Department as part of his plea agreement.
However, after the Justice Department's investigation concluded, the Ethics Commission began investigating Gates. House committees are empowered to investigate whether members or employees violate House rules and standards, which are vastly different from those for federal law enforcement agencies.
In defending himself, Gaetz pointed to the different standards of internal ethics committees and courts, writing in a post last week: No such claim has ever been made in court. ”
The Hill reached out to Gaetz for comment on the report, which was released Monday.
Release of report ends drama at Capitol Hill
Monday's release of the report marks the end of weeks of drama over whether the normally secretive commission will make its findings public.
The committee had been investigating Gaetz since 2021. But interest in the investigation peaked in November after Gaetz was nominated by President-elect Trump to be attorney general and resigned from the House the same day — just days before One Two Step. The committee was scheduled to meet and vote on whether to release the report to the Florida Republican Party.
Gaetz ultimately withdrew his name from the list for attorney general several days later, over objections from Republican senators, and then said he would not take the oath of office in the 119th Congress.
Some in both parties say the committee should still release its report, especially given his Cabinet nomination, and Democrats have called for it to be released even after he withdraws from deliberations. , other Republicans have argued since Gaetz's resignation that the nearly completed report should never be released. He is no longer a member of parliament.
The Ethics Committee has no jurisdiction over former members. However, although infrequently, the commission has published findings on former members several times, most recently in 2006. panel released The findings of an investigation into former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) focused on the actions of House Republican leaders.
The ethics committee was divided over the debate over the release of the report. Democrats remained steadfast in their belief that the results of the study should be made public, but Mr. Guest, the committee's chairman, said publicly that the findings should not see the light of day. In November, after Gates withdrew his name from the attorney general's consideration, Guest said, “I think this should be the end of the debate about whether the Ethics Committee should proceed with this matter.'' .
The committee voted to publish the report in November, but it was defeated. Two House Democrats then forced a resolution on the House floor to force the Ethics Committee to release a series of studies on Gaetz, but the chamber voted to send the measure back to the committee, and the results could not be resolved. Efforts to clarify the matter came to nothing.
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