Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., paid for sex with a 17-year-old who “had just completed her junior year in high school,” according to a House Ethics Committee report that accuses the one-time attorney general nominee of potentially spending more than $90,000 on sex and drugs while a member of Congress.
A draft of the final report, first obtained by CBS News and other outlets, was made public following a committee vote earlier this month to release the panel’s findings. Gaetz, who was investigated for alleged sex trafficking by the Department of Justice, has not been charged with a crime.
“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, per CBS News.
In particular, the report — based on interviews, text messages and a review of Venmo and PayPal receipts — accuses Gaetz of paying $400 to have sex with an underage girl, while noting that “she did not inform Representative Gaetz that she was under 18 at the time, nor did he ask her age.”
Investigators also allege that there is “substantial evidence” that Gaetz routinely used illegal drugs, referred to as “vitamins” and “party favors” in text messages, some of which he appears to have purchased from his Capitol Hill office.
According to the report, several women said they “feared retaliation” if they spoke out about their experiences with the former lawmaker, according to CNN.
“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,’” the report states. “One woman 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 I lived a reality that he denies.’”
After the committee voted last week to release the report, Gaetz issued a statement admitting to “embarrassing” behavior but insisting he broke no laws.
“I probably parties, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life,” Gaetz wrote.
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