BREAKING: House Publishes Gaetz Ethics Report

Statutory rape, drug abuse, and the five most damning findings from the MAGA led House ethics committee

Hours ago the House Ethics Committee published their findings of former MAGA Congressman Matt Gaetz. I read the entire report so you don’t have to, and it is worse than many of us may have imagined. Statutory rape, drug abuse, and more—below I relate the five most damning findings the Committee documents. Let’s Address This.

Gaetz resigned from Congress on November 13, the same day Donald Trump nominated him to serve as U.S. Attorney General (from which Gaetz has since withdrawn his name). The 37-page ethics report, commissioned by a Republican led committee, is in a word, damning. And perhaps the only thing worse is that Gaetz appears to have escaped any meaningful accountability for the crimes alleged in the report. Here are the five most damning findings.

1. Matt Gaetz Violated State Laws Related to Sexual Misconduct

In addition to finding that Matt Gaetz regularly paid for sex with upwards of $90,000 while he was a sitting member of Congress, the ethics committee also found that at the age of 35, Matt Gaetz had sex with underage girls, lied about it, and was found to have violated Florida’s laws against statutory rape:

There is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl. The Committee received credible testimony from Victim A herself, as well as multiple individuals corroborating the allegation. Several of those witnesses have also testified under oath before a federal grand jury and in a civil litigation. Representative Gaetz denied the allegation but refused to testify under oath. He has publicly stated that Victim A “doesn’t exist” and that he has not “had sex with a 17-year-old since I was 17.” 125 The Committee found that to be untrue and determined that there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz had sex with Victim A in July 2017, when she was 17 years old, and he was 35. Representative Gaetz’s actions were in violation of Florida’s statutory rape law.

It is worth noting that in 2017, Gaetz was the only member of Congress to vote NAY on a bill criminalizing human trafficking. Also of note, Gaetz’s close colleague Joel Greenberg is in prison for committing sex trafficking of the same individual mentioned above, i.e. Victim A. About Greenberg’s testimony the Committee reported:

The Committee received additional evidence from Mr. Greenberg that is not included in this Report, much of it salacious but unverifiable, although consistent with the nature of the conduct that the Committee learned of from other witnesses. The Committee found no reason to doubt the credibility of Victim A.

The statute of limitations for statutory rape in Florida was lifted only for rape crimes committed after Jan 1, 2020. Gaetz’s rape crimes are alleged to have been committed prior to then, and thus it appears the statute of limitations for criminally prosecuting those crimes has expired.

2. Matt Gaetz Used Illegal Drugs

The Committee found that Gaetz extensively used illicit drugs, while he was a sitting Congressman, and while using House computers:

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.129 Even more women understood him to regularly be using ecstasy. There is also ample evidence that Representative Gaetz purchased and used marijuana; he appears to have set up a pseudonymous e-mail account from his House office in the Capitol complex for the purpose of purchasing marijuana.

The Committee went on to note that Gaetz provided drugs to women in exchange for sex, and violated numerous state laws in doing so. It is important to remember that while Gaetz voted to mandate drug testing for recipients of SNAP, TANF, and other public welfare benefits, he was a public employee collecting a taxpayer funded salary, and using extensive illicit drugs. The hypocrisy notwithstanding it begs the question why are members of congress exempt from drug testing?

3. Matt Gaetz Violated the House Gift Rule

The Committee further found that Gaetz likely accepted bribes, by any other name, and violated the House gift rule. The Committee wrote:

There is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz received impermissible gifts in connection with his travel to the Bahamas in September 2018. Specifically, Representative Gaetz accepted travel via a private plane and other travel costs. Contrary to Representative Gaetz’s claims that he provided “substantial” evidence to the Committee “demonstrating his innocence” on this allegation, he provided no evidence showing how he paid for any travel costs other than his flight to the Bahamas, despite being given multiple opportunities to do so.

One theme that continues to emerge throughout the ethics report is that Gaetz vehemently denies each of the allegations against him, promises to provide exonerating evidence, yet provides no evidence substantiating the truth or “demonstrating his innocence.” He’s taking a page out of the Trump playbook to deny everything while claiming victory. Of course, to date, Gaetz has faced no accountability for this illegal act either.

4. Matt Gaetz Gave Special Privileges & Favors to Personal Contacts

The Committee furthermore found that Gaetz gave special favors to women he was sleeping with:

The Committee found substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz used the power of his office to assist a woman with whom he was engaged in a sexual relationship in obtaining an expedited passport. The woman was not his constituent, and the case was not handled in the same manner as similar passport assistance cases.

Adding to the hypocrisy is that Gaetz aligns precisely with Trump in demonizing immigrants and demanding immigrants “come here legally.” Yet, while he spent his days demonizing immigrants and decrying undocumented immigration, he used his powers in Congress to help a woman “skip line” (to use MAGA terminology) and get access to a U.S. Passport through illegal means. And perhaps worst of all, rather than recognize that the entire immigration system is broken, unjust, and inefficient, and work with integrity to improve a broken system—Gaetz circumvented the process and committed an illegal act, while condemning those immigrants who get frustrated with this broken process. Another reminder that every MAGA accusation is a confession, and that Republicans claim government doesn’t work, then get elected and prove it.

5. Matt Gaetz Sought to Obstruct Investigation of His Conduct

Finally, as if the above findings were not devastating enough, the Committee found that Gaetz did everything in his power to obstruct the investigation into his criminal activity:

The Committee found substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz engaged in obstructive conduct with respect to the Committee’s investigation. Representative Gaetz pointed to evidence that would “exonerate” him yet failed to produce any such materials. Representative Gaetz continuously sought to deflect, deter, or mislead the Committee in order to prevent his actions from being exposed.

The Committee further reports that Gaetz deliberately withheld information requested of him, intimidated key witnesses if they cooperated with the committee, and hid financial transactions that was otherwise required to disclose. The Committee ultimately concluded that:

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.

And thus the only question that remains is — where is the accountability?

Conclusion

So where is the accountability? Yes, Gaetz is no longer in Congress, but so what? Donald Trump nominated an alleged rapist who committed any number of crimes to be America’s top cop Attorney General. And while this tracks given that a judge confirmed Trump is a rapist in civil court as well. Either Trump knew Gaetz was credibly accused of statutory rape and nominated him anyway, or Trump is so incompetent that he unwittingly nominated a statutory rapist to be AG. Either way, it is clear that Trump is not sending us his best people.

It also only makes the question of accountability that much more important, and raises even more questions, including:

• Why did Speaker Johnson try to bury a report that a member of Congress committed these atrocious crimes and violations?

• Who else in Congress knew Gaetz was engaged in statutory rape, and said nothing?

• Where was Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and how do parents in Florida feel knowing full well that under their Governor’s watch, minor girls suffered statutory rape from one of the Governor’s colleagues, and he did nothing about it?

• How did no one in corporate media with its unlimited funding discover these grotesque crimes or report on them?

• Why did local law enforcement continue to miss years of sexual abuse, drug abuse, and illegal activity on behalf of a sitting member of Congress?

• How is it that none of Gaetz’s staffers, colleagues, or anyone in law enforcement became aware of these crimes committed in the public eye?

One thing is clear. MAGA Republicans will not hold their own accountable. Releasing the ethics report is not accountability. It may be an admission, but an admission without action is lip service and nothing more. Moreover, the ethics report ends with a complaint with minority voting members of the Committee condemning releasing the report at all.

The bottom line is this. History will record that Donald Trump nominated a man to be AG, that the House Ethics Committee determined statutory rapist. History will record that GOP Speaker Johnson tried to cover it up and whitewash statutory rape. And history will record that Florida Governor DeSantis failed to act to hold a statutory rapist accountable. This is who MAGAs are, and we should believe them. The American people should get ready—because this is a microcosm of the corruption they will see from the GOP and the Trump administration over these next four years. It is that much more important we stay active, organized, and engaged, to protect our rights, our communities, and our democratic republic—because MAGAs will do everything possible to undermine our rights and our democracy at every turn. If statutory rape is not a deal breaker for MAGAs to demand criminal accountability, I shudder to imagine what might be their red line, if they even have one.