Matt Gaetz Ethics Report Is as Damning as It Gets

Former Representative Matt Gaetz is filing a restraining order against the entire House Ethics Committee to stop them from showing the world their findings, which reportedly includes evidence that he paid an underaged girl for sex.Gaetz accuses the committee of an “unconstitutional” attempt “to exercise jurisdiction over a private citizen through the threatened release of an investigative report containing potentially defamatory allegations, in violation of the Committee’s own rules.”This all comes after CNN reported last week that the committee secretly voted to release its report into former Representative Matt Gaetz. The report is years long, and based on allegations that Gaetz had paid a teenage girl and multiple women thousands of dollars for sex and drugs since 2017.Gaetz’s restraining order request states that the report would be unjustly tarnishing his reputation, arguing that it is “concerning matters of sexual propriety and other acts of alleged moral turpitude constitutes irreparable harm that cannot be adequately remedied through monetary damages.” The clerk’s office has already told Gaetz his lawsuit must be refiled, as Gaetz’s attorneys made paperwork errors that must be corrected before it goes any further. Gaetz has fervently denied any and all allegations. “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. Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court—which is why no such claim was ever made in court,” Gaetz wrote last week. “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.”This story has been updated.

Dec 23, 2024 - 19:00
Matt Gaetz Ethics Report Is as Damning as It Gets

Former Representative Matt Gaetz is filing a restraining order against the entire House Ethics Committee to stop them from showing the world their findings, which reportedly includes evidence that he paid an underaged girl for sex.

Gaetz accuses the committee of an “unconstitutional” attempt “to exercise jurisdiction over a private citizen through the threatened release of an investigative report containing potentially defamatory allegations, in violation of the Committee’s own rules.”

This all comes after CNN reported last week that the committee secretly voted to release its report into former Representative Matt Gaetz. The report is years long, and based on allegations that Gaetz had paid a teenage girl and multiple women thousands of dollars for sex and drugs since 2017.

Gaetz’s restraining order request states that the report would be unjustly tarnishing his reputation, arguing that it is “concerning matters of sexual propriety and other acts of alleged moral turpitude constitutes irreparable harm that cannot be adequately remedied through monetary damages.”

The clerk’s office has already told Gaetz his lawsuit must be refiled, as Gaetz’s attorneys made paperwork errors that must be corrected before it goes any further.

Gaetz has fervently denied any and all allegations.

“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. Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court—which is why no such claim was ever made in court,” Gaetz wrote last week. “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.”

This story has been updated.