US House committee finds Trump ally Matt Gaetz paid thousands of dollars for sex and drugs
Former Florida congressman had sex twice with a 17-year-old girl, panel found. Gaetz has filed suit against panel to halt release of report
The US House Ethics Committee has found that former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz violated state laws by paying a 17-year-old girl for sex and buying drugs illegally, CBS News reported on Monday, citing a final draft of the panel’s report.
Gaetz, who has denied wrongdoing, resigned from the House of Representatives last month after he was selected by president-elect Donald Trump to be attorney general. He withdrew from consideration in the face of an uphill confirmation battle in the Senate.
In an bid to prevent the report’s Monday release, Gaetz filed a lawsuit on Monday in federal court in Washington against the ethics panel arguing that it no longer had jurisdiction after Gaetz resigned from Congress.
“The Committee’s position regarding its lack of authority over former members represents a clear, well-established policy rather than an isolated interpretation,” Gaetz’s lawyers wrote in a complaint.
His lawyers sought an emergency order to temporarily block publication of the report, which they argued would contain “untruthful and defamatory information” about Gaetz.
Gaetz was not immediately available for comment.
