House Ethics report uncovers evidence of Matt Gaetz's alleged involvement in sex trafficking

The House Ethics Committee accused Matt Gaetz of "regularly" paying for sex, including with a 17-year-old female, as well as purchasing and using illegal narcotics while serving in Congress.

Matt Gaetz speaks on the third day of Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, on July 17, 2024.

Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images

Gaetz has denied any misconduct.

The bipartisan panel's 37-page report provides vivid descriptions of sex-filled parties and vacations in which Gaetz, 42, participated from 2017 to 2020 while representing Florida's western panhandle. The results conclude that he broke various state sexual misconduct statutes while in office.

"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," according to the summary.

The report concludes a nearly five-year probe of Gaetz, who spent the most of his tenure in Washington embroiled in controversies that eventually thwarted President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of him as attorney general. His political future is unknown, however Gaetz has lately stated that he might be interested in competing for the available Senate seat in Florida.

The report's long-awaited release comes after at least one Republican joined all five Democrats on the panel earlier this month in a secret vote to release the report on their former colleague, despite initial opposition from GOP lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, to publishing findings on a former member of Congress.

While ethics reports have previously been issued upon a member's departure, this is highly unusual. Gaetz opposed to its release, stating last week that as a former House member, he would have "no opportunity to debate or rebut" the conclusions.

On Monday, Gaetz filed a lawsuit to prevent the report from being released, claiming it contains "untruthful and defamatory information" that would "significantly damage" his "standing and reputation in the community." Gaetz's lawsuit contends that he no longer falls within the committee's jurisdiction because he resigned from Congress.

"The Committee's position that it may nonetheless publish potentially defamatory findings about a private citizen over whom it claims no jurisdiction represents an unprecedented expansion of Congressional power that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections," Gaetz's attorneys wrote when they asked for a temporary stay.

In addition to soliciting prostitutes, according to the Ethics Committee report, Gaetz "accepted gifts, including transportation and lodging in connection with a 2018 trip to the Bahamas, in excess of permissible amounts."

That same year, investigators believe he directed his chief of staff to get a passport for a woman he was romantically connected with, fraudulently informing the State Department that she was a constituent. One of the committee's final pieces of "substantial evidence" revealed that Gaetz "knowingly and willfully sought to impede and obstruct" the study.

The report comprises dozens of pages of evidence, including text conversations, financial records, travel receipts, cheques, and online payments made by various parties involved. In several of the text conversations, Gaetz appears to be inviting numerous ladies to events, vacations, or parties, as well as arranging for aircraft travel and housing. At one point, he asks a woman whether she has a "cute black dress" to wear. There are also discussions about transporting things.

One of the evidence is a text message discussion between two of the ladies, who appear to be anxious about their financial flow and payments. In another, a person requests Gaetz for assistance in paying for a school fee.

Since 2021, the often-secretive bipartisan group has been investigating allegations against Gaetz. However, its mission got more important last month when Trump named him as his first candidate for the nation's top law enforcement official immediately after the election. Gaetz resigned from Congress the same day, putting him beyond the Ethics Committee's authority.

However, Democrats insisted on making the findings public even after Gaetz was no longer a member and had withdrawn as Trump's nominee to lead the Justice Department. A vote on the House floor this month to force the report's publication failed, with all but one Republican voting against it.