A slew of damning texts have been included within the Home Ethics probe into Matt Gaetz that was made public Monday.
Gaetz, who stands accused of paying girls and a 17-year-old excessive schooler for intercourse, allegedly messaged about his sordid encounters and went so far as criticizing one girl for giving him solely a short “drive-by” assembly earlier than “ditching” him as a result of she was drained.
Home investigators additionally reviewed texts the place Gaetz allegedly requested girls to carry medicine—like marijuana “cartridges” and “rolls”—with them to their conferences, the place he’d allegedly reimburse them along with paying for sexual favors.
Joel Greenberg, a former Seminole County tax collector, is serving 11 years in a Florida jail. / Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/TNS/Sipa USA / Alamy
Different texts, between a girl and Gaetz’ convicted-sex-trafficker-associate Joel Greenberg, peeled again the curtain on how the 2 males allegedly discovered and met with girls they paid for intercourse. In a single textual content thread, which features a picture of a smiling Gaetz, Greenberg allegedly texted a girl a couple of $400 “meet up” that’d embrace himself, Gaetz, the lady he was texting and her good friend. He apparently met the lady on SeekingArrangement.com.
“$400 just isn’t an issue,” Greenberg wrote. “Are you each sufficiently old to drink?”
Just a few messages later, the picture of Gaetz, now 42, was shared—maybe to get approval that he was engaging sufficient.
Texts between Joel Greenberg and a girl who Matt Gaetz is accused of paying to sleep with. / Home Ethics Committee
“Oooh my good friend thinks he’s actually cute!” the nameless girl, who was then 20-years-old, responded.
Greenberg allegedly wrote again: “Properly, he’s down right here just for the day, we work onerous and play onerous… Have you ever ever tried molly.”
The girl concerned in these texts later met up with Gaetz, the report alleges. Investigators mentioned Gaetz turned a repeat buyer of hers and paid her $2,000 through the years. He was nonetheless following her on social media on the time of the report’s publishing.
In one other textual content change seen by lawmakers, they allege that Gaetz invited a girl on a non-public airplane with him to Key West on Could 19, 2017. He mentioned she’d be becoming a member of an “adventurous group” of two guys and 4 women.
Gaetz and the lady took a photograph that very same day in Orlando, displaying Gaetz in “an off-the-cuff shirt along with his arm round her in a dimly lit bar.” She was additionally mentioned to have been photographed in entrance of a helicopter with Gaetz that day, who had paid her $600 to be there.
Different alleged texts confirmed that Gaetz’s alleged sexual encounters weren’t restricted to Florida—although the report specifies that almost all of his meet-ups occurred with college students within the Orlando space. He’s additionally accused of paying two girls to fly to New York to satisfy him and allegedly requested them to carry “get together favors” with them. The committee mentioned these girls have been later paid for having intercourse with him, too.
Gaetz wasn’t all the time so keen to pay, nevertheless, based on the report. Texts between girls who met with Gaetz and his then-girlfriend recommended that on no less than one event, he allegedly hoped to obtain sexual favors without cost. In different texts, a girl complained that “Matt by no means paid me.”
“The fellows [Gaetz and Greenberg] wished me to share that they’re somewhat restricted of their money movement this weekend,” a textual content from Gaetz’s then-girlfriend learn, based on the report. “Matt was like, if it may be extra of a buyer appreciation week…”
Later texts included within the report recommended the ladies agreed to Gaetz’s request for a free meet-up.
“Btw Matt additionally talked about he’s going to be a bit beneficiant reason for the ‘buyer appreciation’ factor final time,” a textual content from months later learn, based on the report.
One other textual content confirmed that Gaetz as soon as reduce a verify for $1,500 to pay for a pupil’s on-line class.
After the ladies defined why she wanted the money, Gaetz allegedly requested, “How a lot is it?” and “When is it due?” earlier than answering succinctly, “On it.”
“You’re the greatest human to stroll the earth,” the lady responded.
The Home Ethics Committee mentioned it discovered “substantial proof” of statutory rape, prostitution, and illicit drug use by Gaetz between 2017 and 2020.
The report was launched in full for the primary time on Monday afternoon, regardless of fervent pushback from Gaetz and different Republicans to have it tabled since he was now not in workplace.
Gaetz has beforehand denied lots of the allegations levied by the committee, together with a declare that he paid to have intercourse with a minor. The Division of Justice beforehand investigated that allegation and dismissed the case after a years-long investigation.
Home investigators got here to a unique verdict of their probe, nevertheless.
“The file overwhelmingly means that Consultant Gaetz had intercourse with a number of girls” at a 2017 home get together in Florida, the report said, “for which they have been paid.” That was Gaetz’s first 12 months in Congress.
Matt Gaetz hit the marketing campaign path with Donald Trump on quite a few events in 2024 and spoke on the RNC. / Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Occasions through Getty Photos
Amongst these he’s accused of paying for intercourse was a 17-year-old woman who had apparently simply completed her junior 12 months of highschool. She testified that she was handed $400 in money by Gaetz after he slept together with her.
{The teenager} testified to investigators that she didn’t inform Gaetz she was a minor and that he by no means requested for her age.
Gaetz denied having intercourse with a minor in a written response to the committee and in addition denied utilizing any illicit medicine—regardless of investigators discovering “substantial proof” on the contrary, together with bogus e mail accounts that have been arrange from his Capitol Hill workplace “for the aim of buying marijuana.”
The Home Ethics report was briefly threatened to not be launched in any respect after Gaetz bowed out of Congress final month to be Donald Trump’s lawyer common appointee—a title he held solely briefly after GOP Senators signaled they might not vote to substantiate him.
With Gaetz now not being an elected official, he argued the Ethics Committee had misplaced its jurisdiction and that the report ought to stay below wraps.
Matt Gaetz gained re-election in November, however mentioned he doesn’t plan to return to the Home of Representatives. / Mike Blake / REUTERS
Particulars in regards to the report’s findings started leaking out, nevertheless, and strain was placed on the bipartisan committee to make it public. Regardless of the protestations of some GOP representatives, the committee voted in secret earlier this month in favor of creating Gaetz’s soiled laundry public.
Gaetz acquired out in entrance of the report with an announcement final week.
“My 30’s have been an period of working very onerous—and taking part in onerous too,” he mentioned. “It’s embarrassing, although not felony, that I most likely partied, womanized, drank and smoked greater than I ought to have earlier in life. I stay a unique life now.”
Whereas the report incorporates damning allegations, a lot of them had been made beforehand towards Gaetz. The report first leaked to CBS Information on Monday morning and was made public hours later. You’ll be able to learn the report in full right here.
Gaetz didn’t reply to a request for remark from the Each day Beast, however he took to X to air out his gripes with the report’s contents and that it was ever launched. He was significantly adamant that the report didn’t embrace full testimony from his alleged victims, which he claims would have confirmed he didn’t pay some girls for intercourse.