Former Rep. Matt Gaetz tried to sue the House Ethics Committee to prevent the release of its report on him after it had been leaked to several news outlets.
On Monday, CNN reported that a final draft of the House Ethics Committee’s report into allegations of sexual misconduct alleged it had found evidence of Gaetz paying women for drugs or sex on at least 20 occasions while a member of Congress, including one woman who was 17 years old. Gaetz sued the committee the same day, seeking to block the report’s release.
The effort was unsuccessful, as the report was released to the public hours later.
“This action challenges the Committee’s unconstitutional and ultra vires attempt to exercise jurisdiction over a private citizen through the threatened release of an investigative report containing potentially defamatory allegations,” Gaetz’s lawyers wrote.
“The Committee’s apparent intention to release its report after explicitly acknowledging it lacks jurisdiction over former members, its failure to follow constitutional notions of due process, and failure to adhere to its own procedural rules and precedent represents an unprecedented overreach that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections,” they added.
Gaetz’s attorneys contended that the release of the report would “significantly damage Plaintiff’s standing and reputation in the community. Once released, the damage to Plaintiff’s reputation and professional standing would be immediate, severe, and irreversible.”
The lawsuit was apparently filed quickly, as the filing contained several spelling and technical errors. The technical errors may have proven fatal, allowing the panel to proceed with releasing the report.
In a sudden reversal, the House Ethics Committee voted earlier this month to release its report on Gaetz after previously voting not to. The release of the report was a surprise, as the committee typically doesn’t release reports on private citizens.
The panel alleged several wrongdoings by Gaetz, with the most egregious being paying for sex with a 17-year-old.
“The Committee determined there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” panel investigators wrote.
Gaetz has vehemently denied the charges, citing the Biden administration’s Department of Justice investigation that didn’t pursue charges after failing to find sufficient evidence. He posted on X to poke holes in the committee’s findings.
“Giving funds to someone you are dating — that they didn’t ask for — and that isn’t ‘charged’ for sex is now prostitution?!?” he wrote. “There is a reason they did this to me in a Christmas Eve-Eve report and not in a courtroom of any kind where I could present evidence and challenge witnesses. This is testimony from one of the alleged ‘prostitutes’ that you won’t see in the report!”
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Gaetz has said previously that he sent funds to some women he dated or was interested in but never had sexual contact with anyone under the age of 18.
“Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court — which is why no such claim was ever made in court,” he said. “My 30s were an era of working very hard — and playing hard too. 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.”