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The findings of the House Ethics Committee’s years-long investigation into former Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) were made public on Monday. The committee found substantial evidence that the Florida congressman engaged in significant misbehavior, including statutory rape, soliciting prostitutes, and using illicit narcotics. Gaetz has strongly refuted every allegation.
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The Ethics Committee’s report alleges that Gaetz violated House Rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct by engaging in prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, accepting illegal gifts, providing special favors, and obstructing Congress. Investigators also claimed that Gaetz “knowingly and willfully sought to impede and obstruct” their inquiry into his actions.
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Despite Gaetz’s resignation from Congress, which initially halted the release of the report, the committee decided to publish its findings, arguing that it was in the public’s interest to do so. Gaetz had previously been considered for a post in the Trump administration and even discussed potential runs for Florida governor in 2026.
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The report includes detailed allegations of Gaetz’s sexual misconduct, including an encounter with a 17-year-old girl in 2017, who later testified that Gaetz paid her $400 for sex and that she had ingested ecstasy beforehand. Florida’s age of consent is 18, and the report claims Gaetz had sex with the woman on multiple occasions during a party in Florida. The investigation also revealed that Gaetz used cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana at various events, with multiple witnesses attesting to his drug use.
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In response to the results, Gaetz acknowledged his previous actions but denied any criminal activity. He also clarified that, while he was single, he frequently provided money to women he dated, including those he never met but who asked. Gaetz stressed that he now leads a different life, even though he acknowledged that he used to party, womanize, drink, and smoke more than he should have.
Beyond the accusations of sexual misconduct, the Ethics report found that Gaetz violated House rules by accepting excessive gifts, including transportation and lodging for a 2018 trip to the Bahamas. It also accuses him of helping a woman with whom he had sexual relations to obtain a passport, providing false information to the U.S. Department of State about her status as a constituent.
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The report’s release has sparked controversy, with Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS) and other committee members opposing the decision to publish it after Gaetz’s resignation. They argued that the committee’s long-standing practice was to withhold reports once a member resigned, stating that the release could be seen as an attempt to politicize the committee’s work.
Despite these objections, the committee emphasized that their findings, which include substantial evidence of misconduct, were important for the public to know. However, the committee did not find sufficient evidence to prove that Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws, an investigation also conducted by the Justice Department.
The investigation and subsequent report are likely to have long-term political consequences for Gaetz, who had previously been a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump. The release comes at a time when Gaetz’s political future is uncertain, especially with talk of a possible run for Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) seat or a gubernatorial bid in 2026. Gaetz, who played a pivotal role in ousting former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), claimed that his push to remove McCarthy was not motivated by the Ethics investigation, though some D.C. insiders believe the two were connected.
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