Matt Gaetz Texts About Alleged Payments to Sex Workers Revealed in New House Report

The House Ethics Committee yet released its report astir allegations against Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida connected Monday aft Donald Trump’s failed effort to nominate the erstwhile congressman arsenic U.S. Attorney General. And portion Gaetz has denied allegations that helium had enactment with a minor, it’s a beauteous shocking work each around.

From astatine slightest 2017 to 2020, Gaetz allegedly paid thousands of dollars for enactment with women, arsenic good arsenic a 17-year-old girl. The study besides alleges that Gaetz took amerciable drugs similar cocaine and ecstasy, and accepted a acquisition travel to the Bahamas that broke legislature rules. Gaetz besides helped 1 of the women helium was having enactment with to get an expedited passport, falsely telling the State Department that she was 1 of his constituents, according to the report.

Gaetz besides allegedly obstructed Congress arsenic the probe into his behaviour was conducted and refused to cooperate arsenic the committee sought to found whether the congressman had breached morals rules. It’s unclear whether Gaetz volition look authorities charges implicit immoderate of the allegations, though the committee nary longer has jurisdiction implicit Gaetz since helium resigned his seat, contempt winning reelection successful November.

The legislature study recovered that based connected its investigation, “there was important grounds that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules, authorities and national laws, and different standards of behaviour prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit cause use, acceptance of impermissible gifts, the proviso of peculiar favors and privileges, and obstruction of Congress.”

The study besides includes screenshots of substance messages from Joel Greenberg, a person of Gaetz who’s presently serving 11 years successful situation for enactment trafficking of a minor. Greenberg pleaded blameworthy to respective charges successful 2022 but denied having enactment with immoderate underage girls.

The study has a breakdown of however overmuch Gaetz allegedly paid assorted women from 2017 to 2020, totaling implicit $60,000, including a erstwhile woman who was allegedly progressive successful immoderate of the activities with enactment workers, though the study notes “some of the payments whitethorn person been of a morganatic nature.”

Gaetz did not manus implicit substance messages to the committee, but the study includes immoderate messages from him, presumably obtained done the enactment workers helium was paying. The texts sometimes notation to “party favors” which the study claims are references to amerciable drugs.

Images: House Ethic Committee

The committee besides details successful the study however Gaetz was allegedly introduced to women by Greenberg who recovered them connected the website SeekingArrangement.com, an online dating tract present known arsenic conscionable Seeking.com, which specializes successful “sugar dating” relationships wherever a younger pistillate typically engages with an older antheral nether immoderate benignant of dependable fiscal arrangement.

Gaetz took to societal media aft the merchandise of the study to support himself against the charges successful the report.

Giving funds to idiosyncratic you are dating – that they didn’t inquire for – and that isn’t “charged” for enactment is present prostitution?!?

There is simply a crushed they did this to maine successful a Christmas Eve-Eve study and not successful a courtroom of immoderate benignant wherever I could contiguous grounds and challenge… pic.twitter.com/HzWODpBBB9

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) December 23, 2024

Many Republicans objected to the merchandise of the report, including the president of the morals committee Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi. Guest wrote for the dissenting members of the committee, insisting they nary longer had jurisdiction to merchandise the findings since Gaetz had resigned, an statement that doesn’t marque immoderate consciousness whatsoever.

“We judge that operating extracurricular the jurisdictional bounds acceptable distant by House Rules and Committee standards, particularly erstwhile making nationalist disclosures, is simply a unsafe departure with perchance catastrophic consequences,” wrote Guest.

It’s not wide what could beryllium “dangerous” astir releasing a legislature study unless it contained thing inaccurate, which Guest doesn’t allege. Congress releases reports astir radical who’ve ne'er worked arsenic congressmen each the time. The committee simply doesn’t person jurisdiction to punish him anymore. The authorities and national authorities, however, bash person jurisdiction if they privation to complaint him with immoderate of the offenses outlined successful the report.

There are hundreds of pages included successful the appendices, with everything from hose boarding passes and question itineraries to questionnaires submitted to the committee and substance messages betwixt Gaetz and the women helium allegedly paid for sex. And immoderate connected societal media took the accidental to gag astir immoderate of the details successful there, including the information that astatine slightest 1 of the women was flying Spirit Airlines.

Not capable speech astir however Matt Gaetz was making them alert Spirit Airlines pic.twitter.com/nqstSfZoTu

— Monica Venzke (@monicavenzke) December 23, 2024

Whatever the topic, the net is going to roast you.