US House report finds that Matt Gaetz violated the law with sexual misconduct, drug use, reports CBS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House Ethics Committee has found that former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz violated state law by paying a 17-year-old girl for sex and illegal drug purchases, CBS News reported on Monday, citing a final draft of the panel’s opinion. report.

Gaetz, who has denied wrongdoing, resigned from the House of Representatives last month after President-elect Donald Trump picked him to be attorney general. He withdrew from consideration in the face of an uphill confirmation battle in the Senate.

Reuters was not immediately able to reach Gaetz for comment.

The report, expected to be released Monday, found that Gaetz paid more than $90,000 to 12 different women, payments that the ethics panel determined were likely related to sexual activity and drug use, CBS reported.

The ethics panel received testimony that Gaetz had sex twice with a 17-year-old girl, described in the report as “Victim A,” at a party in 2017, CBS reported.

“Victim A recalled receiving $400 in cash from Representative Gaetz that evening, which she understood to be payment for sex,” CBS quoted the report as saying. “Victim A stated that she did not inform Representative Gaetz that she was under 18 at the time, nor did he ask her age.”

Gaetz was the subject of a three-year FBI investigation into sex-trafficking allegations that produced no criminal charges.

The ethics panel said there was insufficient evidence that the three-term congressman violated federal sex-trafficking laws, CBS reported.

All of the women who testified said the sexual encounters with Gaetz were consensual, according to CBS.

But one woman told the committee that the use of drugs at the parties and events they attended may have “impaired their ability to really know what was going on or give their full consent.”

Another woman told the committee: “When I look back at certain moments, I feel violated.”

The report found that Gaetz violated house rules and other standards of conduct that prohibited prostitution, statutory rape and drug use, CBS reported.

It also found “substantial evidence” that Gaetz was involved in illegal drug use, CBS reported. It accused him of receiving gifts of luxury travel beyond permissible limits, including a 2018 trip to the Bahamas, CBS added.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Rami Ayyub and Mark Porter)