The House Ethics Committee releases report on its investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz

The House Ethics Committee releases report on its investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz

The House Ethics Committee released its report Monday summarizing the investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who vacated his seat days before the report was expected to be released.

A woman told the committee she saw Gaetz having sex with a minor at a party, her lawyer told NBC News last month.

Two other women told the committee that Gaetz paid them for sex, including a woman who said he paid a woman for sex at a small, invitation-only party in Florida in 2017, while he was a member of the committee, where prostitution is illegal House, her lawyer told NBC News. These women were of legal age at the time.

The same woman told the panel that she saw Gaetz having sex with her then 17-year-old friend at the same party.

Before the report’s release, Gaetz had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and indicated that a separate Justice Department investigation into sex trafficking allegations ended without charges.

Earlier Monday, in an effort to prevent the report’s release, Gaetz filed for a temporary restraining order against the House Ethics Committee and its chairman, Michael Guest, seeking an injunction that would prevent the release of the expected report detailing the investigation against him.

“This lawsuit challenges the Committee’s unconstitutional and ultra vires attempt to exercise jurisdiction over a private citizen through the threatened release of an investigative report containing potentially defamatory allegations in violation of the Committee’s own rules,” the team wrote by Gaetz.

“The Committee’s apparent intention to publish its report after explicitly acknowledging that it lacks jurisdiction over former members, does not follow constitutional notions of due process, and does not adhere to its own procedural rules and precedents constitutes a represents unprecedented overreach that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections.”

“I never had the opportunity to face an accuser. I was never charged. “I’ve never been sued,” Gaetz wrote on X last week.

“When I was single, I often sent money to women I dated – even some I never dated but who asked for it. I dated several of these women for years,” he continued in a lengthy post. “I have NEVER had sexual contact with anyone under the age of 18. Any claim I have would be destroyed in court – which is why such a claim was never brought in court. My 30s were a time when I worked very hard – and played hard too.”

“It’s embarrassing, but not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now,” Gaetz wrote.

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