The House Ethics Committee Monday released its report summarizing the investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who vacated his seat days before the report was expected to initially be made public.
A woman told the committee she saw Gaetz at a party having sex with a minor, her lawyer told NBC News last month.
Two additional women told the committee that Gaetz had paid them for sex, including a woman who said he paid a woman for sex at a small, invitation-only party in Florida, where prostitution is illegal, in 2017 while he was a member of the House, their lawyer told NBC News. Those women were of age at the time.
The same woman told the panel that, at the same party, she witnessed Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was 17 years old at the time.
Prior to the report’s release, Gaetz had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, noting that a separate Justice Department probe into allegations of sex trafficking ended with no charges.
Earlier Monday, in an attempt to prevent the report’s release, Gaetz sought a temporary restraining order against the House Ethics Committee and its Chair, Michael Guest, calling for an injunction that would prevent their release of the expected report detailing the investigation into him.
“This action challenges the Committee’s unconstitutional and ultra vires attempt to exercise jurisdiction over a private citizen through the threatened release of an investigative report containing potentially defamatory allegations, in violation of the Committee’s own rules,” Gaetz’s team wrote.
“The Committee’s apparent intention to release its report after explicitly acknowledging it lacks jurisdiction over former members, its failure to follow constitutional notions of due process, and failure to adhere to its own procedural rules and precedent represents an unprecedented overreach that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections.”
“I’ve had no chance to ever confront any accusers. I’ve never been charged. I’ve never been sued,” Gaetz wrote on X last week.
“In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated — even some I never dated but who asked. I dated several of these women for years,” he continued in a lengthy post. “I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18. Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court — which is why no such claim was ever made in court. My 30’s were an era of working very hard — and playing hard too.”
“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.