Ever since 2020, former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz has faced accusations of sex trafficking and soliciting sex with minors. While the Department of Justice previously said that they would not investigate him, the House Ethics Committee took matters into their own hands and, in their recently released report on the matter, provided their findings. The committee found that the controversial politician paid about $90,000 in total for various instances of underage sex with a 17-year-old high school student and for many different drugs. Gaetz reportedly paid a dozen women for sexual services between 2017 and 2020 according to CBS News.
According to the report, one of the underage women that Matt Gaetz paid was a high school junior at the time that he sexually engaged with in front of other individuals. The committee claims to have evidence of "tens of thousands of dollars in payments to women [...] likely in connection with sexual activity or drug use." "Victim A," the then-17-year-old's name of reference in the report, testified that Kevin McCarthy's ouster gave her $400 in cash at a party seven years ago, something that she "understood to be payment for sex."
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Matt Gaetz At The 2024 RNC
Furthermore, Matt Gaetz and "Victim A" reportedly engaged in sexual acts at that 2017 part twice, the woman did not tell him that she was under 18, and he did not ask her for her age. One important clarification that the report makes is that all the female interviewees who claimed to have sex with Gaetz stated that it was consensual activity. The Trump supporter did not provide testimony before the House Ethics Committee as his subpoena had sought, but he did issue written responses.
Matt Gaetz denied the committee's claims and dismissed any notion of criminal activity. He excused the payments as gifts to girlfriends and brought up the DOJ eschewing an investigation. However, the committee firmly believes that they have evidence showing his violation of House rules by illegally soliciting "prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress." U.S President-elect Donald Trump had nominated him to be Attorney General, but it's clearly a good thing that he pulled out of his bid.
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