The House Ethics Committee discovered evidence that former Rep. Matt Gaetz paid women tens of thousands of dollars for sex or drugs on at least 20 occasions, including paying a 17-year-old girl for sex in 2017, according to the panel’s report on the Florida Republican released Monday.
The committee concluded in its bombshell document that Gaetz violated Florida state laws, including the state’s statutory rape law, as the GOP-led panel took the unusual step of releasing a report on a former member of Congress who resigned.
“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 detectives wrote.
According to the report, the panel looked into transactions Gaetz made with over a dozen women during his time in Congress, often using PayPal or Venmo.
Investigators also looked into a 2018 trip to the Bahamas, which they said “violated the House gift rule” because he “engaged in sexual activity” with multiple women, including one who described the trip itself as “the payment” for sex on the trip. He also used ecstasy during the trip, according to one of the passengers.
Earlier this month, the House Ethics Committee secretly voted to release its report despite initially voting against it. The vote to release the report, which was opposed by panel Chairman Michael Guest, a Mississippi Republican, marked the conclusion of a years-long investigation into allegations against Gaetz.
He was President-elect Donald Trump’s first choice for attorney general, but he dropped out due to opposition from Republican senators and after CNN revealed key details of the same ethics report.
And it’s a political jolt that could reverberate for years, as the Capitol Hill panel targets a longtime Trump supporter who is now a conservative anchor at One America News Network.
Gaetz filed a civil complaint in federal court Monday morning, unsuccessfully attempting to halt the report’s release. He claimed he was not notified of the panel’s plans to release the report, as required by House rules, nor was he provided with copies of the materials.
“As such, Plaintiff has been afforded no opportunity to respond to any report or investigative conclusions of Defendants,” the accusation states. “Plaintiff has frequently and vehemently declared his innocence regarding the alleged misconduct, and requested Defendants cease their investigation and provide him appropriate due process rights.”
Gaetz claimed that the panel had been “unresponsive” to these demands. Gaetz stated in the lawsuit that he informed the committee in writing in May that allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, misuse of campaign funds, and other actions were false.
The lawsuit allows Gaetz to formally claim in writing that the committee’s findings are incorrect, that his privacy has been violated, and that the committee is defaming him.
However, his unusual request for a federal court to block congressional action is now essentially moot because the report has been made public. Gaetz stated in a court filing Monday afternoon that the lawsuit he filed against the House Ethics Committee to prevent the release of its report is now moot, citing the committee’s “unprecedented and procedurally defective decision” to publish the report.
CNN has contacted Gaetz and his lawyers for comment.
The committee released the report on its website Monday morning, noting in a statement the “significant and unusual amount” of reporting about the panel’s investigation into Gaetz. Without naming specific stories, the committee stated that some reporting on its investigation had been “inaccurate.”
The committee condemned any potential unauthorized disclosures, but emphasized that committee witnesses are free to share information about their interactions with its investigators.
The panel also released appendices containing its evidence, such as financial documents and text messages mentioned in the report.
Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and cited the Justice Department’s refusal to file charges against him in 2023.
Gaetz denied having sex with a minor or paying women for sex in a statement posted on X last week, after CNN reported that the committee voted to release the report.
“When I was single, I frequently sent money to women I dated, including some I never dated but who asked. “I dated several of these women for years,” Gaetz explained. “It’s embarrassing, but not criminal, to admit that I probably partied, womanized, drank, and smoked more than I should have in my youth. I’m living a different life now.
Although the committee alleged that Gaetz violated state laws, the panel wrote that it did not find that he violated federal sex-trafficking laws, writing that “although Representative Gaetz did cause the transportation of women across state lines for the purposes of commercial sex, the Committee did not find evidence that any of those women were under 18 at the time of travel, nor did the Committee find sufficient evidence to conclude that the commercial sex acts were induced
Florida’s statewide prosecutor, Nick Cox, declined to comment on the allegations in the report. He referred CNN to state and local law enforcement officials. CNN has contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the state attorney’s offices for comment.
Women told committee they were paid for sex
The report details the committee’s findings regarding Gaetz’s numerous interactions with women who claim they were paid for sex by Gaetz and his friend, Joel Greenberg, a former Seminole County tax collector who is serving an 11-year prison sentence and has cooperated with federal investigators.
The committee wrote that it interviewed more than a half-dozen witnesses who attended Gaetz’s parties, trips, and events between 2017 and 2020. “Nearly every young woman that the Committee interviewed confirmed that she was paid for sex by, or on behalf of, Representative Gaetz,” according to the report.
The committee reported that one of the sexual encounters involved a 17-year-old girl. The woman told the committee that she had sex with Gaetz twice at a party in July 2017 when she was 17. CNN reported on the second sexual encounter last month.
“The Committee received testimony that Victim A and Representative Gaetz had sex twice during the party, including at least once in the presence of other party attendees,” according to the report. “Victim A recalled receiving $400 in cash from Representative Gaetz that evening, which she believed was payment for sex. “She had just finished her junior year of high school.”
The then-17-year-old did not inform Gaetz that she was a minor at the time, and he did not inquire about her age, the committee determined. The committee received no evidence that Gaetz was aware of her age. The woman told congressional investigators she was high on ecstasy at the party and remembered seeing Gaetz use cocaine there.
Gaetz denied having sex with a minor. “I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under the age of 18,” the Florida Republican wrote on X last week. “Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court – which is why no such claim was ever made in court.”
Committee cites online payments and text messages in report
The committee discovered that Greenberg frequently arranged sexual encounters through the website SeekingArrangement.com. “Mr. Greenberg told the Committee that Representative Gaetz was aware that the women they had sex with and paid had met Mr. Greenberg through the ‘sugar dating’ website,” the committee’s report states.
Congressional investigators discovered that Gaetz paid women using a variety of platforms, including PayPal, Venmo, and CashApp. The committee listed payments Gaetz made to 12 women, including his ex-girlfriend, as well as to Greenberg.
The committee stated that Gaetz did not appear to negotiate specific payment amounts for sex with the women he paid. “Many of the women interviewed by the Committee were clear that there was a general expectation of sex,” the investigative team noted.
“One woman who was paid more than $5,000 by Representative Gaetz between 2018 and 2019 told the Committee that ’99 percent of the time that (Representative Gaetz and I) were hanging out, there was sex involved,'” said the panel.
The committee discovered that Gaetz’s then-girlfriend “appeared to act as an intermediary” between Gaetz and the women he paid for sex, based on text messages obtained. The committee reported that it discovered evidence that “Representative Gaetz’s then-girlfriend sometimes participated with him in sexual encounters with other women who were active on the website or otherwise involved in sex-for-money arrangements.”
The committee’s findings were supported by text messages, including one from Gaetz’s then-girlfriend informing women that Representative Gaetz and Mr. Greenberg had limited cash flow for the weekend. Matt suggested making it more of a customer appreciation week.
In another text message exchange cited by the committee, Greenberg wrote to a woman in September 2018, “If you have a friend that is down, perhaps all four of us can meet up later.”
The woman replied that she had a friend who could meet up, adding, “I usually do $400 per meet.”
Greenberg responded by sending a photo of Gaetz holding a phone while taking a selfie. “Oooh, my friend thinks he’s really cute!” the woman said.
“Well, he’s down here only for the day, we work hard and play hard,” wrote Greenberg at the time. “Have you ever tried molly.”
The panel stated that several women informed the committee that they would not voluntarily participate in the investigation, and that some were “clear at first contact that they feared retaliation or were unwilling to voluntarily relive their interactions with Representative Gaetz.”
“While all the women that the Committee interviewed stated their sexual activity with Representative Gaetz was consensual, at least one woman felt that the use of drugs at the parties and events they attended may have ‘impair(ed their) ability to really know what was going on or fully consent,'” according to the report.
“One woman expressed, ‘I think about it all the time…'” I still see him when I turn on the television, and there is nothing anyone can do. It’s frustrating to know I lived a reality he denies.”
Report alleges Gaetz ‘used or possessed illegal drugs’ on multiple occasions
Committee investigators concluded that between 2017 and 2019, Gaetz “used or possessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, on multiple occasions.”
“There is strong evidence that Representative Gaetz used cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana. “At least two women witnessed Representative Gaetz using cocaine and ecstasy at various events,” the committee reported. “Additionally, nearly every witness interviewed observed Representative Gaetz using marijuana.”
The committee stated that Gaetz appeared to create a “pseudonymous e-mail account from his House office in the Capitol complex for the purpose of purchasing marijuana.”
In his correspondence with the panel, Gaetz denied using illicit drugs, according to the committee.
The committee’s investigation also included other violations of House rules. This included a September 2018 trip to the Bahamas, during which the committee discovered that Gaetz accepted gifts of transportation and lodging in excess of the permissible amount.
Gaetz visited the Bahamas with two other men and six women. The committee discovered that despite flying to the Bahamas on a commercial airline, he returned on a private plane.
“The attendees stated that this was a social trip; they sunbathed, chartered a boat, and went to dinners and a casino together. Representative Gaetz engaged in sexual activity with at least four of the women on the trip,” the committee reported.
CNN previously reported that the Justice Department was investigating whether the Bahamas trip was part of an illegal effort to influence Gaetz on medical marijuana policy.
The House Ethics Committee investigation also revealed that Gaetz assisted a woman he met through Greenberg and had sex with in obtaining a new passport.
According to committee investigators, Gaetz connected the woman with his chief of staff, and Gaetz’s top aide assisted the woman in getting an appointment at a Miami passport office, claiming she was a constituent despite the fact that she lived outside of Gaetz’s district.
Committee resumed investigation following closure of federal case
The committee’s investigation into Gaetz began in 2021, but was halted while a separate, years-long federal sex-trafficking investigation into the former congressman was ongoing. The federal investigation ended in February 2023, with no charges filed against Gaetz.
After the federal case was resolved, the House Ethics Committee resumed its work.
When Gaetz resigned from Congress last month during his failed bid to become Trump’s attorney general, the committee initially decided not to release its final report on him. Weeks later, after the report was officially completed, the panel reversed its decision.
Gaetz was Trump’s first choice to lead the Justice Department, but the brief campaign to persuade senators that the MAGA firebrand should lead the department ended in late November when it became clear Gaetz lacked the votes to be confirmed.
In a dissenting statement included with the report, Guest, the committee chair and a Mississippi Republican, stated that he and a minority of other panel members opposed the report’s release because Gaetz was no longer a member of Congress.
“The decision to publish a report after his resignation breaks from the Committee’s long-standing practice, opens the Committee to undue criticism, and will be viewed by some as an attempt to weaponize the Committee’s process,” Mr. Guest stated.
Gaetz will begin working as an anchor for the right-wing One America News Network in January.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said the report should not be released because Gaetz was no longer a member of Congress, but some lawmakers saw his resignation as an attempt to bury the investigation. It is uncommon for an ethics report to be released after a member has left Congress, but it has happened on a few occasions in the past.
The committee noted that Gaetz did not respond to the majority of its questions, even though he corresponded with the panel throughout the investigation.
“In addition to alleging that the Committee’s process was being ‘weaponized’ against him, Representative Gaetz repeatedly alleged that the Committee Members and staff were leaking information to the press, that the Committee’s non-partisan staff were actually acting as Democrats, or that the Committee was working on behalf of former-Speaker Kevin McCarthy,” the report stated.
