After a long back and forth, the Ethics Committee of the US House of Representatives has published the investigation report into the behavior of the controversial Republican Matt Gaetz. This suggests that, among other things, the former MP is said to have paid several women for sex – including a 17-year-old.
US President-elect Donald Trump had originally nominated him for the office of Attorney General, but Gaetz backed out.
Ethics committee sees “valid evidence”
According to the ethics committee, there is “substantial evidence” that the 42-year-old was involved in prostitution, sexual abuse of a minor and illegal drug use. In doing so, Gaetz broke Florida and federal laws as well as the rules of conduct of the parliamentary chamber, the report says.
Gaetz responded on Platform X with a flood of posts in which he particularly rejected the accusation of prostitution. He had previously vehemently denied the allegations against him. Shortly before the report was published, however, his attempt to prevent it through legal action failed.
The most serious allegation concerns a party in his home state of Florida in 2017. Gaetz – then 35 years old – is said to have had paid sex with a 17-year-old, among other women. According to the report, there is no clear evidence that he was aware of the ages of those affected.
Contact a “sugar dating” platform
Under Florida law, this would still constitute the crime of “statutory rape,” which describes the sexual abuse of a minor – even if the sexual contact was consensual. Legally, it would be a form of rape because minors cannot legally consent to sexual acts.
The report goes on to say that Gaetz allegedly gained access to young women through a friend who has since been sentenced to a long prison sentence for numerous offenses and who he contacted via a “sugar dating” platform. This platform serves to bring “older men and younger women” together for “mutually beneficial relationships” and has already been the subject of investigations in other cases. Prostitution is illegal in almost all US states.
The US Department of Justice had been investigating Gaetz for years for, among other things, human trafficking for sexual purposes (“sex trafficking”). However, the investigation was closed without charges. The Ethics Committee continued the investigation and concluded that although Gaetz transported women across state lines for commercial sex acts, there was no evidence that the acts involved minors or that the acts were carried out under duress, fraud or coercion.
Massive criticism of Matt Gaetz’s nomination
Gaetz comes from a wealthy and politically influential family in Florida. He is considered one of the most radical voices within the Republican Party and a loyal supporter of Donald Trump.
His nomination as Minister of Justice caused a wave of indignation. The idea drew sharp criticism not only from Democrats but also from some Republicans in the Senate, the chamber that must confirm Cabinet members. Even a few dissenters in one’s own ranks would have been enough for the personnel to fail.
Gaetz then withdrew at the end of November. Shortly before, he had resigned from his mandate in parliament – presumably to avoid further investigations by the ethics committee, which only investigates sitting MPs. The publication of the report was initially controversial internally; However, last week the committee voted in favor of it.
