The House Ethics Committee has uncovered evidence that former Representative Matt Gaetz paid tens of thousands of dollars to women for sex and drugs on more than 20 occasions, including payments to a 17-year-old girl for sex in 2017, according to a final draft of the panel's report obtained by CNN.
The committee's report asserts that Gaetz violated multiple Florida state laws, including statutory rape statutes. Despite Gaetz's resignation from Congress, the GOP-led panel took the unusual step of releasing its findings publicly.
"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," panel investigators wrote.
Gaetz, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, stepped down from the House of Representatives last month following his selection by President-elect Donald Trump as attorney general. However, he later withdrew his nomination amid mounting opposition and the prospect of a challenging confirmation process in the Senate.
Earlier, Gaetz sought a restraining order Monday against the House Ethics Committee to halt the panel's expected release of a final report summarizing its investigation into him.
The filing accused the committee of an "unconstitutional" attempt "to exercise jurisdiction over a private citizen through the threatened release of an investigative report containing potentially defamatory allegations, in violation of the Committee's own rules."
Earlier this month, the House Ethics Committee reversed its earlier decision and voted to release its report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz, despite initial opposition from panel Chairman Michael Guest, a Republican from Mississippi.
The decision followed a lengthy investigation into allegations against Gaetz. He had been President-elect Donald Trump's top choice for attorney general but withdrew from consideration after facing resistance from GOP senators and following CNN's revelation of critical details from the ethics report.
In a statement posted on X last week following reports that the House Ethics Committee had voted to release its findings, Matt Gaetz denied allegations of having sex with a minor or paying women for sex.
"In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated - even some I never dated but who asked. I dated several of these women for years," Gaetz said. "It's embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, dra
