Matt Gaetz, the former Florida congressman who was briefly Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, paid more than a dozen women for sex while he was in office, including a girl who was 17 years old at the time, according to a report by the bipartisan House Ethics Committee. Gaetz denies the allegations.
Committee investigators say that Gaetz, who served in Congress from 2017 until last month, paid women for drugs and sex on at least 20 occasions. They also found that the Republican either used or was in possession of illegal drugs, such as cocaine and ecstasy, on multiple occasions, and that he accepted lavish gifts in violation of congressional rules. The report concluded that the Trump ally violated several state laws, including Florida’s statutory-rape law. “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,” investigators wrote in the report.
Gaetz has been facing allegations of misconduct since 2019, when the Justice Department began investigating him over two alleged “encounters” with a 17-year-old girl. The investigation reportedly found evidence that Gaetz sent Venmo payments to Joel Greenberg, his political ally and convicted sex trafficker. Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend also testified in front of a grand jury about a trip to the Bahamas Gaetz had allegedly taken with several female escorts, including one who investigators believed was underage. Though the Justice Department ultimately chose not to pursue criminal charges, a concurrent House Ethics Committee investigation was ongoing.
The committee voted to withhold its own report from the public once Gaetz resigned from Congress in November, after Trump nominated him to become attorney general. But earlier this month, lawmakers reversed their decision and secretly voted to release their findings.
According to investigators, Gaetz personally made payments to more than a dozen women during his time in Congress, often through PayPal or Venmo. “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,” the report says of Gaetz’s alleged sexual encounter with a 17-year-old. “Victim A recalled receiving $400 in cash from Representative Gaetz that evening, which she understood to be payment for sex. At the time, she had just completed her junior year of high school.” Investigators also wrote that Victim A did not disclose she was a minor at the time and that Gaetz did not ask her age, either. She told the committee that she saw Gaetz using cocaine at the party.
Gaetz has repeatedly pushed back against the allegations. “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 posted on X on December 18. “I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18.” On Monday, he sought a restraining order to stop the report’s release. According to NBC News, the former congressman argued in the federal complaint that the ethics report involves “concerning matters of sexual propriety and other acts of alleged moral turpitude constitutes irreparable harm that cannot be adequately remedied through monetary damages.”
The Florida Republican was Trump’s first choice for attorney general, but he dropped out when it became clear he didn’t have enough Senate votes to be confirmed owing to the allegations against him. The president-elect nominated Pam Bondi, a Florida prosecutor who is also a longtime Trump ally, as his replacement. Even though Gaetz was reelected to the 119th Congress, he has said he does not intend to serve come January. Instead, he is set to host a political talk show on One America News Network, the far-right, pro-Trump cable channel.
