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.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 ahead of its official release Monday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe 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, which was officially released shortly before noon on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report lays out sordid details of Gaetz\u2019s 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\u2019s refusal to cooperate completely with the years-long ethics inquiry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The draft report alleges that he refused to comply with a subpoena demanding an interview and sent only partial written answers, and that he \u201cintentionally withheld information\u201d about his trip with women to the Bahamas and the fact that he took a prohibited free private plane ride back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRepresentative 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\u2019s request,\u201d the draft stated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d it added. \u201cEven if Representative Gaetz\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview with Just the News on Sunday night, Gaetz said he had not seen the draft but that the contents described to him were similar to what the committee had alleged to him in prior communications. He also forcefully denied any wrongdoing, insisting the payments to women were gifts to girlfriends from a wilder, younger time in his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“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,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gaetz resigned his seat early in November and was named briefly to be President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s attorney general before fresh controversy about the House Ethics Committee inquiry led him to withdraw his name from consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019s resignation because they believed doing so was in the public interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The last time House Ethics released a report about a former member\u2019s conduct was 2006, when it released a report about misconduct involving House pages<\/u><\/a> that involved both current and former members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The draft includes a dissenting statement from Chairman Michael Guest and others who voted against the report\u2019s release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhile we do not challenge the Committee\u2019s findings, we take great exception that the majority deviated from the Committee\u2019s well-established standards and voted to release a report on an individual no longer under the Committee\u2019s jurisdiction, an action the Committee has not taken since 2006,\u201d Guest\u2019s statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRepresentative Gaetz resigned from Congress, withdrew from consideration to serve in the next administration, and declared that he would not seek to be seated in the 119th Congress,\u201d it added. \u201cThe decision to publish a report after his resignation breaks from the Committee\u2019s long-standing practice, opens the Committee to undue criticism, and will be viewed by some as an attempt to weaponize the Committee\u2019s process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The draft’s salacious contents about drugs, sex and money suggest that Gaetz\u2019 confirmation \u2013 had he proceeded with the attorney general nomination\u2014 would have left plenty of fodder for difficult questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The committee concluded that despite Gaetz\u2019 denials, the former lawmaker had engaged in commercial sex transactions and drug use, at least from 2017 to 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFrom 2017 to 2020, Representative Gaetz made tens of thousands of dollars in payments to women that the Committee determined were likely in connection with sexual activity and\/or drug use,\u201d the report stated. \u201cPayments were made to these women using peer-to-peer payment platforms such as PayPal, Venmo, and CashApp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “While Representative Gaetz had accounts in his name on each of those platforms, he also sometimes paid women through another person\u2019s PayPal account, or through an account held under a pseudonymous e-mail account. Representative Gaetz also paid some of the women by check or in cash,” it continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMost of the sex-for-money encounters that the Committee reviewed occurred in Florida, particularly around Orlando. Several of the women involved were students based in that area. On several occasions, however, Representative Gaetz did travel with women that he paid for sex,\u201d it added. <\/p>\n\n\n\nCommercial sex transactions alleged<\/strong><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n