Florida’s former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz. (Photo by Saul Loeb-Pool/Getty Images)
The U.S. House Ethics Committee’s report on former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a product of years of investigation, alleges “substantial evidence” the former congressman paid for sex — including with a minor — and consumed drugs while in office.
Allegations include that Gaetz violated multiple state laws, including statutory rape; paid women for sex; purchased drugs; and sought to obstruct the investigation.
“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,” the report states.
Gaetz, a Republican who served in the U.S. House from 2017 until a month ago, did not give sworn testimony to the committee and has denied the validity of the allegations of wrongdoing since they surfaced.
Gaetz filed for a restraining order against the committee Monday morning, claiming that if the report were made public, “he will be irreparably harmed by the release of potentially defamatory information without due process protections.”
CBS, CNN, The New York Times, and Axios reported information from the report before the committee officially released it Monday morning.
The report said the committee had associated more than $90,000 with Gaetz’s sexual activity and drug use, tying transactions to texts and Venmo and PayPal receipts, although cash transactions could not be tracked.
Gaetz, a Donald Trump ally, denied the allegations that he had sex with “Victim A,” a 17-year-old who had recently completed her junior year of high school, and previously said in a Fox News appearance that the woman does not exist. The Victim A allegations center around a 2017 party in Florida.
“Victim A recalled receiving $400 in cash from Representative Gaetz that evening, which she understood to be payment for sex. Victim A said that she did not inform Representative Gaetz that she was under 18 at the time, nor did he ask her age,” according to the report.
Joel Greenberg, former Seminole County tax collector and friend of Gaetz, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking Victim A in 2021.
“The record overwhelmingly suggests that Representative Gaetz had sex with multiple women at the party, including the then-17-year-old, for which they were paid,” the report states.
Women ‘feared retaliation’
The committee “was not able to speak with every woman who received payments from Representative Gaetz that were suspected of being part of illicit activity.”
“Several” women were initially responsive, but later said they would not voluntarily participate. “Other women were clear at first contact that they feared retaliation or were unwilling to voluntarily relive their interactions with Representative Gaetz.”
‘Probably partied more than I should have’
Wednesday, amid reports the document would be released, Gaetz posted to X that he “probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life.”
“It’s embarrassing, though not criminal,” he said, adding that “I live a different life now.”
“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. I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18. Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court — which is why no such claim was ever made in court.”
Gaetz has previously said people are “trying to recategorize my generosity to ex-girlfriends as something more untoward.”
The committee took a sterner view.
“Representative Gaetz took advantage of the economic vulnerability of young women to lure them into sexual activity for which they received an average of a few hundred dollars after each encounter,” the report states. “Such behavior is not ‘generosity to ex-girlfriends,’ and it does not reflect creditably upon the House.”
The House Ethics Committee has been investigating Gaetz for more than three years, ultimately concluding he “engaged in commercial sex.”
Monday, Gaetz was rapidly firing off social media posts criticizing the report and denying illegal activity.
Giving funds to someone you are dating — that they didn’t ask for — and that isn’t “charged” for sex is now prostitution?!?
There is a reason they did this to me in a Christmas Eve-Eve report and not in a courtroom of any kind where I could present evidence and challenge… pic.twitter.com/HzWODpBBB9
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) December 23, 2024
“Even assuming the payments to those particular women would not violate prostitution laws, the Committee found evidence that Representative Gaetz spent tens of thousands of dollars on other women with whom he had a shared understanding that they would be compensated for sexual activity with him,” the report states.
The report adds that the committee was unable to quantify cash payments made to women.
Gaetz’s sex acts were consensual, according to the report, although one woman testified that drugs may have “impair[ed their] ability to really know what was going on or fully consent.”
“Indeed, nearly every woman that the Committee spoke with could not remember the details of at least one or more of the events they attended with Representative Gaetz and attributed that to drug or alcohol consumption,” the report states.
“The women also discussed instances where Representative Gaetz would try to convince them to have sex with him or Mr. Greenberg: ‘[H]e would make me feel bad about not having sex with him or [] Joel Greenberg’ and that he would say, ‘Why don’t you want to have sex with me’ or ‘[Mr. Greenberg] looks very sad over there . . . . Make him happy,’” the report continued.
One women told the committee, “When I look back on certain moments, I feel violated.”
Another said, “I think about it all the time. … I still see him when I turn on the TV and there’s nothing anyone can do. It’s frustrating to know that I lived a reality that he denies.”
‘Party favors’
The report alleges that Gaetz requested “party favors,” “vitamins,” and “rolls,” and sent a women “several hundred dollars for marijuana cartridges.”
“Nearly every witness interviewed observed Representative Gaetz using marijuana,” the report states, adding that Greenberg testified he provided ecstasy and other drugs and Gaetz reimbursed him with cash. A witness testified she saw Gaetz take cocaine or ecstasy on at least five occasions.
Gaetz has been called “one of the most pro-cannabis Republicans on Capitol Hill,” although recreational marijuana use remains illegal in Florida.
Most of the “sex-for-money encounters” reviewed occurred near Orlando and several of the women were students in the area, according to the report.
The report alleges that while Gaetz was in office he accepted gifts exceeding the permissible monetary value, including a trip to the Bahamas in 2018 paid for “by an associate of Representative Gaetz with connections to the medical marijuana industry who allegedly also paid for female escorts to accompany them on the trip.”
The report alleges Gaetz’s office assisted a woman with whom he engaged in sexual activity and did not live in his district in obtaining an expedited passport. The report alleges Gaetz lied to the State Department about where the woman lived.
‘A politically motivated body’
“Like, if the things that the House Ethics Report were true, I would be under indictment and probably in a prison cell,” Gaetz said during an interview with Charlie Kirk.
“But of course, they’re false. Because when you test them against other records, when you test them against other testimony, it all falls apart very quickly. But I was dealing with a politically motivated body. They didn’t like me because of what I did with Kevin McCarthy.”
Gaetz led the push to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy more than a year ago. According to the report, Gaetz accused nonpartisan committee staff of working on behalf of Democrats or McCarthy’s allies, although McCarthy’s ouster happened years after the investigation began.
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Aniticpating the report
The Panhandle Republican and potential candidate for Florida governor in 2026 previously was under investigation by the Department of Justice for sex trafficking but was not charged with any crime.
Although the committee found Gaetz “did cause the transportation of women across state lines for purposes of commercial sex,” it did not find sufficient evidence that he participated in sex trafficking. The women queried by the committee were older than 18 and were not forced, frauded, or coerced, according to the report.
The committee continued its investigation after the DOJ declined to prosecute and was scheduled to vote on whether to release its report in November. Days before the vote, Trump nominated Gaetz to serve as attorney general and Gaetz resigned from Congress.
House Speaker Mike Johnson previously said the report should not be released because Gaetz was no longer a member of the body. The committee voted, after his resignation, that the report would not be released.
Gaetz withdrew from his nomination after eight days amid concerns that he could not be confirmed by the Senate. In a secret vote, the committee switched course and decided to release the report.
Will he return?
Gaetz made it clear that he would not return to Congress in January despite winning reelection in November.
He announced in December he will host “The Matt Gaetz Show” on One American News Network starting in January.
Following reports that the ethics report would be released, on Gaetz wrote on X that someone had suggested he “participate in Speaker election (I was elected to the 119th Congress, after all…),” take the oath of office, then “File a privileged motion to expose every ‘me too’ settlement paid using public funds (even of former members),” then resign from office.
He then reposted a reply to his post that stated, “Do it.”
Politico reported Thursday that it had obtained a draft of a resolution prepared by GOP lawmakers that would carry out Gaetz’s plan.
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