A House Ethics Committee report released on Monday details substantial misconduct by former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s initial choice for Attorney General. The 42-page report, concluding a years-long investigation, alleges that Gaetz engaged in a pattern of paying for sex, including with a minor, used illegal drugs, and attempted to obstruct investigators.
The report states that Gaetz “regularly paid women for engaging in sexual activity,” used cocaine and ecstasy between 2017 and 2019, accepted gifts such as a trip to the Bahamas in 2018, and misled the Department of State to obtain a passport for a woman he was involved with, falsely claiming she was a constituent. The committee explicitly stated that Gaetz’s actions exploited the financial vulnerability of young women, paying them an average of a few hundred dollars per encounter, a practice the report deemed far from “generosity to ex-girlfriends” and unbefitting of a member of the House. The report notes these actions violated Florida’s prostitution and statutory rape laws.
Crucially, the report cites “substantial evidence” that Gaetz engaged in sexual acts with a 17-year-old girl, referred to as “Victim A.” This evidence includes testimony from Victim A and corroborating accounts from multiple individuals, some of whom also testified under oath before a federal grand jury and in civil litigation. Despite Gaetz’s denial of these allegations and his public claim that Victim A “doesn’t exist,” the committee determined the evidence convincingly demonstrated that he had sex with Victim A in July 2017, when she was underage and he was 35, a clear violation of Florida’s statutory rape law. Gaetz refused to testify under oath during the investigation.
Following Trump’s November nomination of Gaetz for Attorney General—despite a prior Department of Justice sex trafficking investigation that did not result in charges—Gaetz resigned from the House. This resignation followed significant criticism from lawmakers and increased scrutiny of the ongoing ethics investigation, which commenced in April 2021. He subsequently withdrew his candidacy for Attorney General.
Gaetz continues to deny all allegations and filed a lawsuit against the House Ethics Committee on Monday, claiming the report’s release is unconstitutional due to a lack of jurisdiction over a private citizen. He criticized the timing of the report’s release on X (formerly Twitter), stating that it prevented him from presenting evidence and challenging witnesses in a courtroom setting.
The committee’s decision to release the report was not unanimous. Committee Chair Michael Guest, a Mississippi Republican, publicly opposed the release, asserting that the committee lost jurisdiction over Gaetz after his resignation from the House. While not disputing the committee’s findings, Guest criticized the decision to release the report as a deviation from established standards and an unprecedented action since 2006. The committee initially voted against releasing the report on November 20th before reversing course on December 10th. It is important to note that Gaetz has not been criminally charged.