Tuesday Briefing: The Matt Gaetz Report is Out

Matt Gaetz in April.Credit…Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Report accuses Matt Gaetz of paying for sex with a minor

A report by the House Ethics Committee accused Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump’s former pick for attorney general, of regularly paying for sex and using illegal drugs. He was also accused of having sexual relations in 2017 with a 17-year-old girl, whowas also paid.

The report released yesterday concluded that the actions by Gaetz violated state sexual misconduct laws in Florida, which Gaetz formerly represented in Congress. The laws include Florida’s statutory rape law, though the report did not find conclusive evidence that he violated federal sex trafficking laws. It was released weeks after Gaetz withdrew from consideration to be the nation’s chief law enforcement officer. Read the main takeaways here.

Gaetz mounted a last-ditch effort to block the report’s release yesterday, filing an emergency motion in Federal District Court, but was notified that he had filed it improperly. He then took his case to social media, arguing on X that he was being unfairly maligned by a “sham witch-hunt report.”

He is set to join the conservative One America News Network as an anchor in January. We have updates here.

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