Ethics committee report finds evidence Matt Gaetz paid 17-year-old-girl for sex
The IndependentSign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Greenberg — who has been cooperating with investigators since pleading guilty to sex trafficking — told the committee that Gaetz “was aware that the women they had sex with and paid had met Mr. Greenberg through the ‘sugar dating’ website,” according to the report. “In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated — even some I never dated but who asked,” Gaetz said in a statement last week, following news of the report’s imminent release. “Instead, House Ethics will reportedly post a report online that I have no opportunity to debate or rebut as a former member of the body.” open image in gallery The House Ethics Committee’s bombshell report follows a lengthy investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct while in office, among other accusations The publication of the report marks a stunning reversal of the committee’s November decision against its release, which House Republicans also successfully blocked in a series of party-line votes in the chamber earlier this month. The committee’s report follows a lengthy probe into allegations against the Republican, including whether he also “shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gifts,” according to the committee’s announcement last year.