On Monday, the House Ethics Committee finally put out the report which resulted from their investigation into alleged acts of misconduct committed by former Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz. The Committee made it clear it does not, as a normal course of action, release reports like this concerning former members of Congress, but they chose to go ahead in this case due to the amount of intense public interest surrounding it and because the majority of the members voted to release the document despite Gaetz’s resignation.
A report from The Daily Wire said that the Committee found “substantial evidence” concerning the following:
- From at least 2017 to 2020, Representative Gaetz regularly paid women for engaging in sexual activity with him.
- In 2017, Representative Gaetz engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl.
- During the period 2017 to 2019, Representative Gaetz used or possessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, on multiple occasions.
- Representative Gaetz accepted gifts, including transportation and lodging in connection with a 2018 trip to the Bahamas, in excess of permissible amounts.
- In 2018, Representative Gaetz arranged for his Chief of Staff to assist a woman with whom he engaged in sexual activity in obtaining a passport, falsely indicating to the U.S. Department of State that she was a constituent.
- Representative Gaetz knowingly and willfully sought to impede and obstruct the Committee’s investigation of his conduct.
- Representative Gaetz has acted in a manner that reflects discreditably upon the House.
The Committee stated that they could conclude based on these findings that “substantial evidence” existed that 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 report then said they were not able to obtain enough evidence to come to the conclusion that Gaetz was in violation of sex trafficking laws. The Committee stated Gaetz was “uncooperative” during the investigation and ultimately did not show up for an interview for which he was subpoenaed.
“The Committee then sent Representative Gaetz a set of written questions, to which he issued a public response that ignored most of the direct questions about his misconduct and mischaracterized the Committee’s investigation and his participation up to that point,” the Committee’s report said.
Guys, I have to be honest. This is absolutely not a good look for Gaetz. It’s a good thing he pulled his name out of consideration for the position of Attorney General. There’s no way he would have been confirmed. At least now an individual has been chosen that will likely be confirmed when the new administration comes in next month.
Now, these are still just allegations. We don’t know if all this really happened for sure. And we know the left would do anything to destroy someone who is close to Trump. The only thing we can do is pray for those the president-elect chooses for his cabinet.