An investigation by the U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee has confirmed that former Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz illegally had sex with underage girls and used drugs.
A report released Monday by the House Ethics Committee said it found evidence that former Attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz paid tens of thousands of dollars to women in exchange for sexual favors or drugs on at least 20 occasions, including in 2017 with a 17-year-old girl for sex.
Comprehensive foreign news reported on the 23rd that the committee concluded in the shocking document that the former Republican representative of Florida violated state laws, including statutory rape laws, and the Republican-led ethics committee took the rare step of choosing to make public the report of the resigned lawmaker. “The Committee determined that there was sufficient evidence that Congressman Gates violated House norms and other rules of conduct, including prohibitions against prostitution, statutory rape, illegal drug use, receiving improper gifts, special treatment or the use of privileges, and obstructing congressional investigations,” the panel wrote.
During his time in Congress, Gates conducted personal transactions with more than a dozen women through payment platforms such as PayPal or Venmo, according to the report. Investigators also focused on a 2018 trip to the Bahamas. This, they argued, was a “violation of the House gift rules.” During the trip, he “engaged in sexual acts” with several women, and one of the women described the trip itself as “sexual hospitality.” Another woman who was travelling with him told the commission that he had also taken ecstasy during the trip.
Gates had been President-elect Donald Trump’s first choice for attorney general, but withdrew from the nomination process after opposition from Republican senators. It is a political earthquake that could reverberate for years, because the ethics committee is targeting a longtime and loyal Trump supporter who is now a conservative anchor on the One America News Network.
The report was made public after Gates, a close political ally of Trump, withdrew his name from consideration for attorney general. Despite his withdrawal, Gates offered to run for the seat being vacated by Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida during an annual gathering of conservatives called Turning Point USA in Arizona on Sunday. Now the House Ethics committee’s findings are likely to further hamper Gates’ political career and reignite fresh criticism of Trump’s appointment choices.