Ethics Report: Matt Gaetz Paid Tens of Thousands to Women for Sex
GoLocalProv News Team
Ethics Report: Matt Gaetz Paid Tens of Thousands to Women for Sex
The committee concluded that Gaetz violated Florida state laws, including the state’s statutory rape law, as the GOP-led panel chose to take the rare step of releasing a report about a former member who resigned from Congress.
“The Committee determined there is substantial evidence that Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” panel investigators wrote.
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The Report finds:
The Committee did not receive any evidence that Representative Gaetz had his own account on SeekingArrangement.com. Mr. Greenberg [a friend of his] indicated he frequently showed the site to Representative Gaetz and that he provided his login credentials to Representative Gaetz. According to Mr. Greenberg, he and Representative Gaetz would split the costs of “drugs, hotel[s], and girls.” For example, the Committee reviewed evidence that such activity occurred in July 2017. Specifically, evidence showed that Representative Gaetz, Mr. Greenberg, and others gathered at a rental property located in the Brickell neighborhood of Miami, Florida for a weekend beginning on July 7, 2017; Representative Gaetz and Mr. Greenberg also spent time in Fort Lauderdale during the Miami stay (during which time Representative Gaetz withdrew at least $1,200 in cash from three different accounts at a single ATM). On June 22, 2017, Representative Gaetz paid $6,308 for that rental booking.39 On July 9, 2017, Mr. Greenberg paid Representative Gaetz $1,600 by check; Mr. Greenberg stated the check was reimbursement for a share of the rental.40 Mr. Greenberg also noted that they met up with another individual for dinner that weekend, and he shared a photo of Representative Gaetz, himself, and the other individual on social media on July 8, 2017.
The Committee received evidence confirming that Representative Gaetz at times personally made payments to women who attended parties with him and Mr. Greenberg, using various peer-to-peer electronic payment services, as well as checks and cash. The Committee’s record also indicates that Mr. Greenberg sometimes paid women for having sex with Representative Gaetz and was sometimes reimbursed by Representative Gaetz.
Witnesses indicated that there were times where a lump sum would be sent to one woman, who would then distribute the money evenly among others who attended the parties. Likewise, in one instance Representative Gaetz sent $400 to Mr. Greenberg with the note “Hit up [Victim A]”; Mr. Greenberg then sent two women payments totaling $400, including Victim A. On August 19, 2020, Mr. Greenberg was indicted on charges related to his misuse of motor vehicle records and identification documents in his role as Seminole County tax collector and his attempt to falsely accuse a political opponent of being a pedophile; he was additionally charged with sex trafficking of a child (Victim A), wire fraud, bribery of a public official, theft of government property, and related charges. He pleaded guilty to six charges, including sex trafficking of Victim A, in May 2021 but his sentencing was delayed until December 2022 due to his ongoing cooperation in several other matters. As part of his cooperation, he provided information that was ultimately corroborated and ended in successful prosecutions.
From 2017 to 2020, Representative Gaetz made tens of thousands of dollars in payments to women that the Committee determined were likely in connection with sexual activity and/or drug use. Payments were made to these women using peer-to-peer payment platforms such as PayPal, Venmo, and CashApp; while Representative Gaetz had accounts in his name on each of those platforms, he also sometimes paid women through another person’s PayPal account, or through an account held under a pseudonymous e-mail account.46 Representative Gaetz also paid some of the women by check or in cash.
The following chart summarizes payments made by Representative Gaetz to Mr. Greenberg and to women via peer-to-peer payment platforms or checks:
In a statement Gaetz released on X last week, he wrote.“In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated - even some I never dated but who asked. I dated several of these women for years.”
“It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now,” he added.
In late November, former United States State Representative Gaetz withdrew his name for consideration to be President-Elect Donald Trump's nominee for Attorney General.
Thursday, Gaetz shared the following to his account X on Thursday, November 21:
I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback - and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.
There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I'll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump's DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.
I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I'm certain he will Save America.
On Sunday, Gaetz, while speaking at a conservative conference, said he is considering running for the soon-to-be vacant U.S. Senate seat in Florida. Sitting Republican Senator Marco Rubio has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as Secretary of State.