House Ethics draft report accuses Gaetz of statutory rape of 17-year-old, drug use and obstruction

Gaetz is quoted extensively in the draft report denying each allegation and told Just the News that "these were some women who I dated over the course of a decade, and had relationships with at various times and that I admittedly were generous to."

The House Ethics Committee gathered evidence that former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida paid multiple women for sex, including a 17-year-old high school junior, used illegal drugs like cocaine and ecstasy and obstructed efforts by Congress to investigate his conduct, according to a draft of its findings obtained by Just the News.

“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," stated the draft of the report slated to be released this week.

The draft report also said it did not find evidence that Gaetz had engaged in sex trafficking as some had alleged, concluding that all the women who traveled with Gaetz out of their home states did so voluntarily even if they accepted payments for sex.

The draft lays out sordid details of Gaetz’s alleged drug-fueled partying with young women based on interviews with those women and eyewitnesses, but saved some of its harshest criticisms for the former Florida Republican’s refusal to cooperate completely with the years-long ethics inquiry.

The draft report alleges that he refused to comply with a subpoena demanding an interview and sent only partial written answers, and that he “intentionally withheld information” about his trip with women to the Bahamas and the fact that he took a prohibited free private plane ride back.

“Representative Gaetz clearly understood that he had acted contrary to House Rules by accepting private plane travel but chose to try to cover up his actions rather than comply with the Committee’s request,” the draft stated.

“The Committee determined that Representative Gaetz' attempts to mislead and deter the Committee from investigating him implicated federal criminal laws relating to false statements and obstruction of Congress,” it added. “Even if Representative Gaetz’s obstructive conduct in this investigation did not rise to the level of a criminal violation, it was certainly inconsistent with the requirement that Members act in a manner that reflects creditably upon the House, in violation of House Rule XXIII., clause 1.”

The draft mentions the committee voted to adopt the findings on Dec. 10 and includes a dissent from the committee's chairman objecting to its planned public release. Two sources confirmed the authenticity of the draft but cautioned the final version released to the public could have some changes, such as redactions.

https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/hldhouse-ethics-report-accuses-matt-gaetz-statutory-rape-17-year?utm_source=mux&utm_medium=social-media&utm_campaign=social-media-autopost

>>22214060

Breaking: House Ethics draft report accuses Matt Gaetz of statutory rape of 17-year-old, drug use and obstruction

https://x.com/jsolomonreports/status/1871046392229118290?s=61

>>22214066

He emphasized the Biden Justice Department reviewed all the evidence and chose not to bring any criminal charges. He said he personally possessed evidence showing the woman cited in the report expressed affection for him, asked him out on dates, and asked him for financial help for items unrelated to sex.

In the draft, the former congressman is quoted as telling the committee he denied all of its serious allegations, saying his relationships and payments to women were because they were girlfriends to whom he bestowed gifts. Among his responses cited in the report, Gaetz told the committee:

Any suggestion he “may have engaged in sexual misconduct including violations of federal laws relating to sex trafficking and state laws relating to prostitution and statutory rape,” were “false” and that “[t]hese allegations were investigated by the Department of Justice and the investigation was completely dropped”;

He denied the allegations that he used illicit drugs;

He denied having sex with the minor, suggesting the allegation was “manufactured” by noncredible witnesses. “Your correspondence of September 4 asks whether I have engaged in sexual activity with any individual under 18. The answer to this question is unequivocally NO. You can apply this response to every version of this question, in every forum,” he wrote the committee; and

Regarding the payments to women, he declared “someone is trying to recategorize my generosity to ex-girlfriends as something more untoward.”

Gaetz resigned his seat early in November and was named briefly to be President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general before fresh controversy about the House Ethics Committee inquiry led him to withdraw his name from consideration.

The draft report addresses the unusual circumstances of Gaetz resigning before the inquiry begun in 2021 was ended and said that a majority of the House Ethics Committee, though not all, voted to release the findings despite the lawmaker’s resignation because they believed doing so was in the public interest.

The last time House Ethics released a report about a former member’s conduct was 2006, when it released a report about misconduct involving House pages that involved both current and former members.

The draft includes a dissenting statement from Chairman Michael Guest and others who voted against the report’s release.

“While we do not challenge the Committee’s findings, we take great exception that the majority deviated from the Committee’s well-established standards and voted to release a report on an individual no longer under the Committee’s jurisdiction, an action the Committee has not taken since 2006,” Guest’s statement said.