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Ethics Commission expands investigation into Matt Gaetz

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Ethics Commission expands investigation into Matt Gaetz

Top line

The House Ethics Committee is investigating whether Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida granted special privileges and favors to friends and obstructed an administrative investigation into his conduct, the panel said in a rare public statement Tuesday – a day after Gaetz said he was facing a new “non-serious” investigation.

Key data

The committee said it had closed its investigation into allegations that Gaetz shared inappropriate images or videos in the House of Representatives, misused government identification documents, used campaign funds for personal purposes and/or accepted bribes or inappropriate payments.

The committee’s previously announced investigations into sexual misconduct and illegal drug use, as well as the acceptance of inappropriate gifts, are still ongoing, it said. In addition, it had “difficulties” obtaining information from Gaetz.

The House Ethics Committee on Tuesday clarified the status of its long-running investigation into Gaetz after the Florida congressman tweeted on Monday that it had launched a “new, non-serious investigation” into his conduct and predicted an “exoneration.”

Gaetz, who has repeatedly denied the allegations, suggested the investigation was retaliation for efforts he led last year to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), even though those efforts began in 2021, before McCarthy became speaker (McCarthy claimed Gaetz was targeted because he refused to drop the Ethics Committee’s investigation).

Forbes has reached out to Gaetz for comment.

Surprising fact

Gaetz allegedly shared nude photos and videos of his sexual partners with fellow congressional members at work and openly bragged about his sex life, anonymous lawmakers told CNN in 2021. Republican Rep. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, a McCarthy ally, repeated the allegations after McCarthy’s ouster, telling CNN that Gaetz also “bragged about how he crushes up erectile dysfunction drugs and washes them down with an energy drink so he can last all night,” claims Gaetz called a “lie” at the time.

Important background

The House Ethics Committee’s investigation stems from a Justice Department investigation into allegations made by Gaetz’s former friend Joel Greenberg that Gaetz paid a minor to travel across state lines for sex. Greenberg pleaded guilty in 2020 to sex trafficking of a minor and agreed to assist prosecutors in their investigation. Gaetz’s office said last year that the Justice Department had declined to bring charges against him for obstruction of justice and sex trafficking. The committee briefly paused its investigation to avoid disrupting the Justice Department’s work and resumed efforts in May of last year. The committee interviewed more than a dozen witnesses, issued 25 subpoenas and reviewed “thousands of pages of documents” as part of the investigation, it said Tuesday. The existence of an investigation “in and of itself does not mean that a violation occurred.”

tangent

Among the witnesses questioned by the committee is a woman who said she attended a drug-fueled party in the summer of 2017 with Gaetz and the underage girl he allegedly had sex with, ABC News reported in April, citing sources familiar with the investigation. The witness reportedly said the girl was naked at the party and that there were spaces available for sex. An unnamed spokesman for Gaetz denied the allegations to ABC and said he did not use drugs while in Congress. Gaetz was recently subpoenaed as part of a civil defamation lawsuit brought by Gaetz’s friend and former Florida state Rep. Chris Dorworth against Greenberg and the woman he allegedly had sex with.

Further information

Witness claims in a statement to Parliament that Matt Gaetz attended a drug party with an underage girl, according to a report (Forbes)

Report: Matt Gaetz was subpoenaed by a woman he allegedly had sex with when she was a minor (Forbes)

Matt Gaetz will not face charges in sex trafficking investigation (Forbes)

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