Florida Man and formerly Donald Trump’s candidate to be Attorney General was found by congressional ethics investigators to have violated multiple state laws related to sexual misconduct while in office.
The report, apparently leaked to CBS News, found Gaetz paid numerous women — including a 17-year-old girl — for sex, and to have purchased and used illegal drugs, including from his Capitol Hill office.
The Daily Beast reports that the full release is expected later Monday.
“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 37-page report concludes.
Among the findings:
- During a 2018 trip to the Bahamas, witnesses said Gaetz took ecstasy and had sex with four women. He was also accused of accepting gifts of luxury travel in excess of permissible limits associated with the Bahamas trip.
- From 2017 to 2020, the committee determined Gaetz paid more than $90,000 to 12 different women determined to be likely in connection with sexual activity and/or drug use.
- At a 2017 party, Gaetz twice had sex with “Victim A,” who was 17 years old at the time and had just completed her junior year in high school. Victim A received $400 in cash for sex.
- There was “substantial evidence” Gaetz engaged in rampant illicit drug use. The committee said it obtained text messages he sent where he referred to drugs as “party favors,” “rolls” or “vitamins.” It also said he created a fake email from his Capitol Hill office “for the purpose of purchasing marijuana.” The report noted that Gaetz had denied using illicit drugs in his written answers to the committee.
- Gaetz also arranged for his chief of staff to assist a woman with whom he had engaged in sexual activity in obtaining a passport, falsely indicating to the State Department that she was one of his constituents.
The report apparently did not uncover sufficient evidence of sex trafficking, a federal crime.
