Matt Gaetz Is Trying to Get Ahead of Damning Ethics Report

After the House Ethics Committee secretly voted to release the report alleging Gaetz's misconduct, he tried to write off the allegations, claiming his “30's were an era of working very hard—and playing hard too.”

By Kylie Cheung  |  December 19, 2024 | 12:08pm
Photo: Getty Images Politics
Matt Gaetz Is Trying to Get Ahead of Damning Ethics Report

On Wednesday, CNN reported that after a secret vote, the House Ethics Committee decided to finally release their notorious report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz. As you’ll recall, the committee was set to release it around mid-November—only for Gaetz to suddenly resign from the House, stripping the committee of jurisdiction to investigate and potentially sanction him. This came right after President-elect Trump nominated Gaetz to be his attorney general, prompting Congressional Republicans to more or less fall in line. But Gaetz officially withdrew his name from consideration within about a week and since then, it seems at least a few GOP members on the Ethics Committee sided with Democrats and voted to release the report. 

Shortly after CNN’s reporting, Gaetz did what all innocent people do, and attempted to get ahead of what will likely be an endless grocery list of misdeeds. Gaetz stands accused of trafficking and having multiple sexual encounters with a 17-year-old.

“House Ethics will reportedly post a report online that I have no opportunity to debate or rebut as a former member of the body,” he wrote in a tweet so long that I’d ordinarily mutter, “happy for you or sorry that happened,” if not for the chance to watch an alleged sex predator spin out. He continued:

“In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated—even some I never dated but who asked. I dated several of these women for years. I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18. … It’s embarrassing, though 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 concluded, “My 30’s were an era of working very hard—and playing hard too.”

The whole screed could best be summarized as a cheeky “Boys will be boys!” But, for whatever reason, Gaetz felt compelled to detail the extensive amounts of money he gave to varying young women (but “NEVER” under 18, mind you!), supposedly out of the goodness of his heart and for nothing in return. Very believable behavior coming from someone like Matt Gaetz!

The report hasn’t yet been released to the public, but the committee previously said that it would look into allegations that Gaetz had “engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, in violation of House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct.”

The Justice Department first opened an investigation in 2021 into allegations that Gaetz trafficked and had a sexual encounter with a 17-year-old girl in 2017. The investigation closed in 2023 without explanation, and Gaetz wasn’t charged. But the House Ethics Committee launched its own investigation in 2021. Gaetz’s resignation reportedly came two days before the committee was set to release their report.

In the days before Gaetz withdrew from consideration for AG, new reports surfaced detailing how Gaetz appeared to use his “adopted,” adult son (?) Nestor’s PayPal account to pay for sex. Other reports revealed Gaetz sent suspicious Venmo payments between 2017 and 2019 totaling $10,000 to young women, for reasons including “being my friend,” “joy,” “being awesome,” “love you,” and “just because.”

Ah, yes. The classic “working very hard—and playing hard too” behavior characteristic of anyone in their thirties!

 
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