The Final Draft of Matt Gaetz Ethics Report Has Been Released

The full House of Representatives Ethics Committee report on Matt Gaetz was released today. While its contents are heinous, they aren’t surprising—we’ve known much of this for years. It’s also not particularly newsworthy now that Gaetz has withdrawn his bid to be Attorney General and resigned from Congress. I’d like to believe this report will ensure Gaetz never serves in government again, but the MAGA faithful are unlikely to care. It probably won’t even threaten his future as an anchor on OAN.

Nevertheless, here are the key findings: Gaetz allegedly engaged in sexual relationships with women he met through a “sugar dating” website, including a 17-year-old high school girl. He reportedly traveled with her across state lines, which legally constitutes sex trafficking. Gaetz made substantial payments—tens of thousands of dollars—through Venmo, PayPal, checks, and cash to women for sexual activities. He and his associates also coordinated group sexual encounters with women recruited online, often paying for their participation.

On a 2018 trip to the Bahamas, Gaetz and others allegedly brought drugs and engaged in encounters with women he paid. Witnesses described him as orchestrating the trip, which involved impermissible gifts for himself and others. Gaetz was also accused of using cocaine and ecstasy.

Text messages revealed that Gaetz and his associates referred to these encounters in business-like terms, with one weekend described as a “customer appreciation” event.

The House concluded there was “substantial evidence” 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.” The allegations were too egregious—and investigated by Congress itself—for Gaetz to survive his bid for Attorney General. Pam Bondi has since been nominated in his place.

Gaetz, who made several attempts to block the release of the Ethics report, has threatened to expose the dirty laundry of other House members in retaliation.