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The House ethics panel has opened an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Matt Gaetz.
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Amy Archer-Gilligan
Apr 9, 2021, 5:30:52 PM4/9/21
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The House ethics panel has opened an investigation into sexual
misconduct allegations against Matt Gaetz.
The House Ethics Committee announced on Friday that it had opened an
investigation into a torrent of allegations against Representative
Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, including that he broke sex
trafficking laws, misused campaign funds and shared graphic images of
women with other lawmakers on the House floor.
Though the committee shared few details about its work, the scope
appeared to be exceedingly broad and overlap with an ongoing Justice
Department inquiry into the third-term congressman. In a terse
statement disclosing the inquiry, the top Democrat and Republican on
the panel wrote that they would seek to determine whether Mr. Gaetz,
38, had violated House rules, the law or "other standards of conduct."
"The committee is aware of public allegations that Representative Matt
Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use,
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
gift," said the joint statement from Representatives Ted Deutch,
Democrat of Florida, and Jackie Walorski, Republican of Indiana.
The decision by the ethics panel could further complicate Mr. Gaetz's
attempts to fight the allegations and remain in his House seat. But
the committee typically works slowly and poses far less legal or
political risk than a Justice Department inquiry.
The Justice Department is investigating whether Mr. Gaetz broke sex
trafficking laws by having sex with a 17-year-old girl in exchange for
something of value, and whether he paid adult women for sex, including
while under the influence of illicit drugs. Separately, several
current and former congressional officials have described to The New
York Times and other news outlets incidents in which Mr. Gaetz, a
proponent of marijuana legalization, showed up on the House floor
smelling of the drug, or shared videos and photos there of women with
whom he claimed to be having sex.
Mr. Gaetz has denied he ever had sex with a minor or paid for sex.
"Once again, the office will reiterate, these allegations are
blatantly false and have not been validated by a single human being
willing to put their name behind them," his office said in an unsigned
statement on Friday.
The ethics panel announced the investigation in one of its customary
Friday afternoon news releases, just before issuing another that said
it would look into potential sexual misconduct by Representative Tom
Reed, Republican of New York. In March, a former lobbyist publicly
accused Mr. Reed of groping her during a weekend political trip in
2017. Mr. Reed initially denied the accusation, but subsequently
apologized and announced he would not seek re-election in 2022.
"We have already publicly addressed this situation and consistent with
that are cooperating with the House Ethics Committee to bring this
matter to conclusion," Mr. Reed said in a statement on Friday.
-- Nicholas Fandos
--
/\_/\
((@v@))
():::()
VV-VV
misconduct allegations against Matt Gaetz.
The House Ethics Committee announced on Friday that it had opened an
investigation into a torrent of allegations against Representative
Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, including that he broke sex
trafficking laws, misused campaign funds and shared graphic images of
women with other lawmakers on the House floor.
Though the committee shared few details about its work, the scope
appeared to be exceedingly broad and overlap with an ongoing Justice
Department inquiry into the third-term congressman. In a terse
statement disclosing the inquiry, the top Democrat and Republican on
the panel wrote that they would seek to determine whether Mr. Gaetz,
38, had violated House rules, the law or "other standards of conduct."
"The committee is aware of public allegations that Representative Matt
Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use,
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
gift," said the joint statement from Representatives Ted Deutch,
Democrat of Florida, and Jackie Walorski, Republican of Indiana.
The decision by the ethics panel could further complicate Mr. Gaetz's
attempts to fight the allegations and remain in his House seat. But
the committee typically works slowly and poses far less legal or
political risk than a Justice Department inquiry.
The Justice Department is investigating whether Mr. Gaetz broke sex
trafficking laws by having sex with a 17-year-old girl in exchange for
something of value, and whether he paid adult women for sex, including
while under the influence of illicit drugs. Separately, several
current and former congressional officials have described to The New
York Times and other news outlets incidents in which Mr. Gaetz, a
proponent of marijuana legalization, showed up on the House floor
smelling of the drug, or shared videos and photos there of women with
whom he claimed to be having sex.
Mr. Gaetz has denied he ever had sex with a minor or paid for sex.
"Once again, the office will reiterate, these allegations are
blatantly false and have not been validated by a single human being
willing to put their name behind them," his office said in an unsigned
statement on Friday.
The ethics panel announced the investigation in one of its customary
Friday afternoon news releases, just before issuing another that said
it would look into potential sexual misconduct by Representative Tom
Reed, Republican of New York. In March, a former lobbyist publicly
accused Mr. Reed of groping her during a weekend political trip in
2017. Mr. Reed initially denied the accusation, but subsequently
apologized and announced he would not seek re-election in 2022.
"We have already publicly addressed this situation and consistent with
that are cooperating with the House Ethics Committee to bring this
matter to conclusion," Mr. Reed said in a statement on Friday.
-- Nicholas Fandos
--
/\_/\
((@v@))
():::()
VV-VV
Billy
Apr 10, 2021, 8:52:16 AM4/10/21
to
Amy Archer-Gilligan wrote
Time for Congressman Gaetz to settle this by coming out of the closet as
Gay. It's an ironclad alibi that will serve him well in prison.
Gay. It's an ironclad alibi that will serve him well in prison.
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