A former Republican chairman of the House Ethics Committee said “Matt Gaetz has a real problem here” after the committee released a scathing Monday. the report He was President-elect Donald Trump’s initial pick for attorney general in the investigation into the former Florida GOP congressman.
The bipartisan House Ethics Committee’s report found “substantial evidence” that Gaetz violated rape laws and participated in a broader pattern of paying women for sex, and found evidence of illegal drug use, accepting inappropriate gifts, giving special favors to personal members and others. research obstacle.
“There’s clearly sex, money and drug issues here. And they’re really, really big issues, big issues,” Dent told ABC News’ Diane Macedo. “Boy, this is really powerful stuff.”
Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) speaks before a visit by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at the AmericaFest 2024 conference sponsored by the conservative group Turning Point, in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 22, 2024.
Cheney Page/Reuters
Dent added that “given the magnitude of the allegations against Matt Gaetz, there could be a recommendation for expulsion.”
“I can’t see any member of the Washington, DC Republican Party coming to his defense in Congress on this issue,” he said of Gaetz’s political future. “He has made his bed, they will let him lie there.”
After Gaetz resigned from his seat, there were calls for the report to be released, considering that Gaetz was considered the country’s top law enforcement officer. House Speaker Mike Johnson opposed the firing, citing the longstanding practice of ending ethics investigations after a member leaves Congress.
Johnson did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
GOP House Ethics Committee Chairman Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi said Monday that “(Gaetz’s) decision to release a report after his resignation breaks with the committee’s longstanding practice and is a dangerous departure that could have catastrophic consequences.”
Guests added that they did not vote to release the report, and “the majority voted to depart from the Commission’s well-established standards and release a report on an individual not within the Commission’s jurisdiction.”
However, he said that “he does not challenge the conclusions of the Commission”.
Representative Michael Guest speaks at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on April 27, 2023.
Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE
California Democratic Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, one of seven members of the House Ethics Committee who voted to release the report, believes the content “disqualifies Mr. Gaetz from holding public office for resignation.”
“I strongly believe in the public’s right to the findings of a bipartisan, taxpayer-funded investigation, and that transparency and accountability are critical to good governance and restoring trust in our institutions,” DeSaulnier said in a statement Monday, adding that the report “speaks.” for himself.”
Maryland Rep. Glenn Ivey told ABC News’ Kyra Phillips “there’s no question there’s precedent for doing what we’ve done here.”
“The committee has had previous scenarios — at least four that we’ve identified — where a member of Congress is under investigation, they’ve dropped it for one reason or another … The committee still released the report to the public,” he explained. He added that it has happened in the case of both democratic and republican representatives.
Ivey also said that the allegations against Gaetz are “serious enough”, and agreed that colleagues on both sides of the political spectrum have had strong reactions to the allegations.
On Monday, Gaetz filed a lawsuit against the Ethics Commission in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to try to block the release of the report. Judge Amit Mehta instructed Gaetz by 5 p.m. to explain why the case should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, as “this case appears to be moot given the fact that the House Ethics Committee’s report was made public.”
Gaetz’s attorneys filed a brief Monday afternoon, acknowledging that his case was “overlooked” after the release of the report and that it caused “irreparable and irreparable harm” to Gaetz.
Gaetz questioned the allegation that he was sending money to women in exchange for sex, writing in X“giving money to someone you’re dating — who hasn’t asked for it — and that’s not ‘paid’ for sex is now prostitution?!?”
He also criticized the timing of the release of the report, “the reason they did that to me in a late-night report and I was not able to present evidence and challenge the witnesses in any court.”
Republican Matt Gaetz speaks in front of former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally at the Lee’s Family Forum on Oct. 31, 2024 in Henderson, Nev.
Evan Vucci/AP
Gaetz defended himself last week, denying wrongdoing and repeatedly insisting he was not charged. Department of Justice investigation who investigated similar allegations.
“They charged me for nothing: SOLD OUT,” he said He wrote in X last week
“My 30s were a time of working really hard, and playing hard, too,” he added. “Shamefully, although not a criminal, I probably partied, womanised, drank and smoked more than I should have in my life. I live a different life now.”
Dent pushed back in Gaetz’s defense that he is a changed man.
“This issue is about his behavior while in office, not about things he did when he was younger,” he told ABC News.
Gaetz resigned from his congressional seat representing Florida’s 1st District after Trump elected him to be AG, but later. he retired The Ethics Committee was preparing to publish its report among the reports.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, walks with Vice President JD Vance as they arrive for meetings with senators, November 20, 2024, in Washington.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Gaetz was elected to his seat in the next Congress, but said he would not return after being considered for attorney general. But he posted last week that someone suggested it Back to Congress voting in speaker elections and “filing a privileged motion to disclose every ‘me too’ settlement (including former members) paid for using public funds.”
Dent said he suspected there would be “an immediate ouster motion” if Gaetz were to join the next Congress.
Former Rep. George Santos, RN.Y., who was expelled from the House in 2023 after the Ethics Committee found “a complex web of illegal activity involving Representative Santos’ campaign, personal and business finances,” jumped to Gaetz’s defense.
“The report on Matt Gaetz reads like an opposition report…why do you want to know? Because the “ethics” committee is made up of a bunch of political HACKS!” himself he said monday
Like after Santos left Congress, Gaetz began selling videos on Cameo — a website where users can buy personalized video messages from celebrities — after considering the AG.
Gaetz also recently joined One America News Network, where, starting in January, he will host a one-hour weeknight show as well as a weekly video podcast with OAN’s Dan Ball.
OAN did not immediately respond to ABC’s request for comment.
