House Investigators Allege Matt Gaetz Engaged in Sex with Minors, Drug Use, Misconduct

A bipartisan House committee report released Monday alleges “substantial evidence” that former Representative Matt Gaetz engaged in a pattern of serious misconduct, including paying several women for sex — one of whom was a 17-year-old girl — and using illegal drugs while serving in Congress, Bloomberg reports.

The report states that Gaetz violated House Rules and standards of conduct by engaging in “prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress.”

The committee also found evidence that Gaetz used illicit drugs, and created a fake email from his official congressional office for the purpose of purchasing marijuana. Additionally, the report accuses Gaetz of accepting excessive, undisclosed gifts, including a 2018 vacation to the Bahamas.

Gaetz, a Florida Republican, had sought to prevent the release of the report, but his legal paperwork was filed incorrectly. The former congressman had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Gaetz, initially considered by then President-elect Donald Trump to be his Attorney General nominee, resigned his congressional seat in November, effectively ending his bid for that position after facing mounting opposition from GOP senators. Despite his departure from Congress, the report’s findings cast a shadow over his political future, including potential gubernatorial aspirations in Florida.

Gaetz did not respond to requests for comment from his lawyers. Instead, he took to social media platform X to dismiss the allegations. He pointed to a previous Justice Department investigation that did not result in charges as exonerating him, and claimed the Ethics Committee relied on witnesses deemed not credible by federal prosecutors. However, the committee stated in its report it found the witnesses it heard to be “credible.”

“It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now,” Gaetz wrote in a post on X.

Gaetz, 42, was already a controversial figure, having led efforts to oust then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October 2023. The move left the House without a Speaker for about three weeks, until Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana was elected as McCarthy’s replacement.

The bipartisan Ethics Committee initially voted to keep the report under wraps after Gaetz’s resignation. The decision to release the report indicates that at least one Republican joined with Democrats to vote for its publication. It is unusual, but not unprecedented, for the committee to issue a report about a former member.