House Ethics Report Accuses Matt Gaetz of Illicit Drug Use, Paying for Sex with 17-Year-Old

We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

The House Ethics Committee released the results of its years long investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), claiming Monday to have found “substantial evidence” the Florida lawmaker committed statutory rape, solicited prostitutes, and used illegal drugs. Gaetz denies the accusations.

The Ethics Committee said in its report:

The Committee concluded there was substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, acceptance of impermissible gifts, the provision of special favors and privileges, and obstruction of Congress.

Ethics investigators claimed that Gaetz “knowingly and willfully sought to impede and obstruct” the committee’s investigation.

The report’s release follows after Gaetz resigned from Congress, preventing the panel from unveiling the report. However, the committee decided to release the report, believing it to be in the public’s interest. Trump initially tapped the Florida lawmaker to lead the Justice Department, and now has been floated as a potential Florida gubernatorial candidate in 2026, and could still be appointed a post in the Trump administration.

Gaetz also questioned if he should run for Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) seat since Rubio was nominated to lead the State Department.

RELATED: Rep. Mike Rogers Held Back from Confronting Matt Gaetz

The Florida lawmaker enraged many in D.C. after he led the effort to oust then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), which he blamed for the Ethics Committee investigation against him. Gaetz, however, claims that the move to oust McCarthy was not because of the congressional investigation against him.

The Committee did not find “sufficient evidence” to prove that Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws, which the Justice Department had also investigated.

Gaetz released a statement last week after outlets reports noted that the Ethics Committee voted to release the report, stating, “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. 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.”

Politico detailed more of the report’s findings:

In addition to allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use, the Ethics investigation found that Gaetz violated House rules by accepting excessive gifts, including transportation and lodging, in connection with a 2018 trip to the Bahamas. It also alleges that Gaetz violated another ethics rule in 2018 when he arranged for his top staffer to assist “a woman with whom he engaged in sexual activity in obtaining a passport, falsely indicating to the U.S. Department of State that she was a constituent.”

…

At a party in July 2017 at a Florida lobbyist’s home, Gaetz had sex twice with a 17-year-old, who had just completed her junior year of high school, according to the report. Florida’s age of consent is 18.

In the testimony of the now 24-year-old woman, referred to as “Victim A,” she said that she had sex with Gaetz at “least once in the presence of other party attendees” and that she received $400 in cash from Gaetz, which she understood as a payment for sex. The woman also testified that she had ingested ecstasy before the sexual encounter and said that Gaetz used cocaine that same night as well.

“There is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz used cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana.

“At least two women saw Representative Gaetz using cocaine and ecstasy at different events. Additionally, nearly every witness interviewed observed Representative Gaetz using marijuana,” the report continued.

RELATED: Matt Gaetz Resigns from Congress After Trump Nominates Him for Attorney General

Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS), said in a statement with other committee members that opposed the release of the report, “The decision to publish a report after his resignation breaks from the Committee’s long-standing practice, opens the Committee to undue criticism, and will be viewed by some as an attempt to weaponize the Committee’s process.”