The ethics report that found some of the illegal behavior of… Republican former congressman Matt Gaetz was released due to votes from two of his GOP colleagues.
The sordid report revealed that Gaetz paid more than $90,000 for sex, including with a minor, and distributed illegal drug “party favors.”
However, the allegations would never have seen the light of day if two Republicans had not voted to release the allegations just in time for Christmas, weeks after Gaetz resigned from Congress over his doomed bid to become attorney general.
Dave Joyce of Ohio and Andrew Garbarino of New York joined Democrats on the House Ethics Committee to give them the majority needed to release the dossier. Axios reported.
After voting against releasing the report in November, along with their party, the two GOP members sided with the left in a quiet vote that took place earlier in December to seal Gaetz’s fate.
Joyce is part of moderate Republican governing groups but has remained a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, voting with him 93.8% of the time during his first term.
The Ohio representative has already recently railed against the party as he was the only Republican member of the House of Representatives to vote against holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for refusing to release audio tapes of President Biden’s interview.
He won re-election to a seventh term in Ohio’s 14th district in November by 27 points.
The ethics report that exposed some of Republican former Congressman Matt Gaetz’s conduct was released thanks to votes from two of his GOP colleagues
Ohio’s Dave Joyce joined Democrats on the House Ethics Committee to give them the majority needed to release the dossier
Garbarino represents a more moderate district on Long Island, but still won a third term by 19 points after posting seven-point victories in his first two runs.
He holds somewhat moderate positions on LGBTQ+ rights and co-sponsored the Fairness for All Act, the Republican alternative to the Equality Act.
Both were among the 35 Republicans who voted to create the Jan. 6 committee and both are members of the cross-party, “moderate” Problem Solvers Caucus.
Neither has confirmed their vote or made a statement about why they chose to release the documents.
DailyMail.com has reached out to spokespeople for both Congressman Garbarino and Congressman Joyce for comment.
Gaetz, 42, made the payments to women for sex while he was a member of Congress House Ethics Committee investigation found.
The two-part report, published Monday, said, “From 2017 to 2020, Representative Gaetz made tens of thousands of dollars in payments to women that the committee determined were likely related to sexual activity and/or drug use.”
Gaetz spent more than $90,000 on 12 different women, the report said.
Andrew Garbarino represents a more moderate district on Long Island, but still won a third term by 19 points after posting seven-point victories in his first two runs. He also voted to release the file
The report included details of two sexual encounters he had with a 17-year-old girl identified as “Victim A.”
It stated, “Victim A recalled receiving $400 in cash from Representative Gaetz that evening, which she believed was payment for sex.
“Victim A stated that she did not inform Representative Gaetz that she was under the age of 18 at the time, nor her age.”
In a failed attempt to prevent the report’s release, Gaetz filed a last-minute lawsuit against the Ethics Panel, saying the damage to his reputation and professional standing would be “severe and irreversible.”
His lawyers said the report contained “false and defamatory information” and that the committee no longer had jurisdiction over a former member of Congress.
The report notes that all of the women who testified before the committee called their sexual encounters with Gaetz “consensual.”
Gaetz has maintained his innocence throughout the investigation, even admitting last week that he had been “feminine and partying” more than he should have in his 20s.
‘My thirties were an era of very hard work – and also hard play. It’s embarrassing, but not criminal, that I’ve probably partied, womanized, drank, and smoked more than I should have earlier in my life,” Gaetz wrote on X.
Matt Gaetz and his wife Ginger Luckey Gaetz
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz responded to news reports that the House Ethics Committee report would be released in the coming days by saying his behavior was “shameful, but not criminal.”
The former congressman insisted he had “NEVER had sexual contact with anyone under 18” and pointed to the Justice Department’s “complete exoneration.”
He says he now lives “a different life” with his wife Ginger in Florida.
Gaetz is rumored to be looking to fill Senator Marco Rubio’s soon-to-be vacated Senate seat as he takes on the role of Trump’s Secretary of State.
The report also found “substantial evidence” that the Republican used illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy.
According to the committee, Gaetz called drugs “party favors” and “vitamins.”
It was also determined that Gaetz had created a fake email account for the purpose of purchasing marijuana.
The ex-congressman has denied ever using illegal drugs during this time in his life.
Last week, the committee voted to release its report on the conduct of former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, in a stunning reversal.
Matt Gaetz speaks during a 2024 campaign rally for former US President Donald Trump in Waco, Texas, March 25, 2023.
The same committee had voted along party lines last month to keep the report secret after the president-elect tapped Gaetz, a key ally of the MAGA Congress, to serve as attorney general.
Gaetz withdrew from the trial after it was determined his bid would not pass the Senate, with Trump replacing him with former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The Florida congressman resigned from Congress in mid-November after being appointed Trump’s attorney general and later said he would not retake the Florida congressional seat he won in the Nov. 5 general election.
It’s rare for an Ethics Commission report to be released after a member has resigned from Congress, and the decision to release it means some Republicans have changed their vote and sided with Democrats in making it public of the findings.
The Ethics Commission’s investigation included a years-long investigation into allegations against Gaetz, including sexual misconduct, whether the Florida Republican used illegal drugs and whether he shared “inappropriate images or videos in the House of Representatives.”
It was also investigated whether he “misappropriated identity information, used campaign funds for personal use and/or accepted bribes, improper tips or impermissible gifts,” according to a description of the investigation released last summer.