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The House Ethics Committee report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida has been released, with the panel having “determined there is substantial evidence” that the former congressman and attorney general nominee violated a 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,” the report states.
Before its release, Gaetz sued the committee to block the release of the report that found that he paid thousands of dollars to more than a dozen women — including a 17-year-old girl — for sex.
In a federal lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C., the Republican accused the committee of making an “unconstitutional” attempt to “exercise jurisdiction over a private citizen” by releasing a report “containing potentially defamatory allegations.”
He asked for a judge to issue an emergency order to block the report’s release, but drafts had already been published in several news outlets Monday morning.
Publishing the report would mark an “unprecedented overreach that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections,” attorneys for the former congressman wrote.
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Report: Gaetz ‘made tens of thousands of dollars in payments to women’
The Ethics Committee states that “From 2017 to 2020, Rep. 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. Payments were made to these women using peer-to-peer payment platforms such as PayPal, Venmo, and CashApp; while Representative Gaetz had accounts in his name on each of those platforms.”
Gaetz has rejected the allegations.
“In one text exchange viewed by the Committee, Rep. Gaetz balked at a woman’s request that he send her money after he accused her of ‘ditching’ him on a night when she was feeling tired, claiming she only gave him a ‘drive by.’ The woman asserted to Rep. Gaetz that she was being ‘treated differently’ than other women he was paying for sex,” the report adds.
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All the allegations against Matt Gaetz revealed in explosive report
Alex Woodward reports on the bombshell ethics investigation that alleges Matt Gaetz paid for sex with a high schooler, used cocaine and ecstasy, and abused the power of his office.
The former congressman denies wrongdoing.
Source: independent.co.uk
