Matt Gaetz accused of paying woman for sex parties as new bombshell texts emerge

Sign 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. Read our privacy policy The House Ethics Committee’s probe into Matt Gaetz has obtained 2017 texts that the Florida Republican allegedly sent to a young woman who had been paid for sex by his associate. Rep. Gaetz does not know anything about the woman you’re referencing, though he takes thousands of selfies each year.” On top of these bombshell messages, this same woman allegedly informed prosecutors in 2021 that she had sex with Mr Gaetz at a party that she was paid to attend, her lawyer told The Daily Beast. The attorney told the Daily Beast that her client told investigators “that she and lots of girls were provided all kinds of controlled substances at these parties.” “The availability of vast amounts of alcohol and controlled substances gave rise to the lack of control of the hormonal imperative,” the attorney continued, “which inspired people to engage in intimate behavior that may or may not have been because they were financially remunerated.” Once the probes into the Florida Republican began, the attorney said, a Gaetz associate — who also attended the parties — allegedly asked if she was speaking to anyone about the Florida lawmaker or the drug-fueled bashes. “For them to go through all that and then for the target of the investigation to just get a wink and a nod has created for some of them a loss of faith in the system.” When the investigation was restarted, Mr Gaetz said: “I was cleared by the Department of Justice and the FBI, who looked into my life for years.” “Now, I believe that the House Ethics Committee is trying to weaponize their process against me because every once in a while up here I’m a rabble-rouser and I don’t go along to get along.