A woman reportedly testified before the House Ethics Committee that Matt Gaetz had sex with her when she was 17 years old.
Gaetz had been the subject of a yearslong House Ethics Committee investigation for alleged drug use and sexual misconduct.
But he resigned from Congress on Wednesday after Donald Trump announced him as his pick for attorney general, sparking a backlash.
Gaetz’s resignation means the Ethics Commission no longer has jurisdiction over the Florida Republican, even though the panel was set to vote Friday on whether to release its report on the investigation it conducted.
Apparently the committee summoned the woman – now in her twenties – at the center of the sex investigation this summer.
She sat through several days of testimony in which she talked about Gaetz and her sex when she was a minor in high school, sources close to the investigation told ABC News.
The accuser reportedly “claimed that she was an adult” on the website where she met Gaetz’s boyfriend Joel Greenberg, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2022 for sex trafficking of a minor.
“These allegations are fabricated and would constitute false testimony before Congress. This false smear following a three-year criminal investigation should be viewed with great skepticism,” Gaetz said in a statement.
Gaetz had been the subject of a yearslong House Ethics Committee investigation for alleged drug use and sexual misconduct
In June, it was reported that at least one woman reportedly admitted to the House Ethics Committee that Gaetz paid her for sex via Venmo.
Committee investigators interviewed six women, according to ABC News.
The women were shown Venmo payments from the Florida Republican to them and asked if they were for sex.
The women allegedly attended parties with Gaetz and his former friend Joel Greenberg, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2022 for sex trafficking of a minor.
The women allegedly attended parties with Gaetz and his former friend Joel Greenberg, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2022 for sex trafficking of a minor.
Gaetz has denied all allegations that have long circulated around him, including paying for sex.
“Someone is trying to recategorize my generosity towards ex-girlfriends as something more unpleasant,” he previously said.
The Ethics Commission obtained Gaetz’s Venmo data through a subpoena.
Investigators from the committee interviewed six women, according to ABC News
Gaetz’s resignation means the Ethics Commission no longer has jurisdiction over the Florida Republican
Rep. Michael Guest, R-Ala., the chairman of the House Ethics Committee, reiterated Thursday that he has no plans to release the report.
If the report is not released, the details of the investigation could remain secret indefinitely.
The Justice Department previously investigated Gaetz for alleged sex trafficking of a minor, but informed him that they would not file charges in 2023 due to witness credibility issues.
The Ethics Commission announced at the time in a rare public statement that they would “further investigate” Gaetz on allegations including sexual abuse and illegal drug use.
Gaetz said last summer that the commission was opening “new frivolous investigations” into him.
Trump shockingly nominated Gaetz as the nation’s top law enforcement official on Wednesday.
His choice of the embattled former congressman to oversee the Justice Department, FBI, DEA, ATF and related agencies has shocked Republicans and Democrats.
Now some Republican senators who will vote on his nomination are demanding that the House of Representatives report be reviewed before the 42-year-old Florida man can join Trump’s Cabinet.
“The president’s role is to make the nomination, but we must fully vet the nominees, not only so we know the nominee is qualified, but also to protect the president,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Thursday.
He “absolutely” wants to review the House of Representatives Ethics Committee report on Gaetz’s conduct.
Cornyn even floated the idea of taking legal action to review the contents of the report.
“There are different ways we can access it, we can subpoena it,” he told reporters. “I don’t think any of us want to fly blind.”
Cornyn argued that the Senate plays a role in weeding out unqualified candidates during the nomination process, and that this protects the president from potential bad apples.
However, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., doesn’t think this will work, nor does he want it to happen.
When Graham was asked whether the Senate could subpoena an unreleased House ethics report, he replied, “I wouldn’t think so.”
The South Carolinian also added that he would not want the House to be able to subpoena unreleased Senate reports.