Several women who testified during the lengthy Justice Department sex trafficking probe of Rep. Matt Gaetz have been interviewed behind closed doors by House Ethics Committee investigators in recent weeks, according to various individuals familiar with the committee’s work.
Investigators from the House Ethics Committee have conducted private interviews with a number of women who provided testimony during the protracted Justice Department sex trafficking probe into Rep.
Investigators have questioned at least six women on their purported attendance at events hosted by the Florida congressman and funded by Joel Greenberg, Gaetz’s formerly close buddy.
Gaetz has long denied all of the charges, including the one regarding paying for sex, claiming that “someone is trying to recategorise my generosity to ex-girlfriends as something more untoward.” In 2023, the Justice Department notified Gaetz that it would not be filing charges against him after a year-long investigation.
The Committee subpoenaed Justice Department records about its inquiry into the Florida legislator earlier this year. Nevertheless, sources asserted that the agency has declined to supply the information. However, Gaetz’s Venmo data were obtained by the committee when they sent a subpoena to the business.
The House Ethics Committee provided an updated report on Gaetz’s probe on Tuesday. The Florida congressman is alleged to have “engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use” and “sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.” The bipartisan panel will keep investigating these allegations. The committee has examined thousands of documents, summoned over a dozen witnesses, and issued 25 subpoenas.
The committee also declared that it will no longer investigate allegations made against Gaetz, such as the ones that he “may have shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, or accepted a bribe or improper gratuity.”
Gaetz called the House Ethics Committee “Soviet” on Monday and asserted that “every investigation into me ends the same way: my exoneration.”
Regarding a party in July 2017, investigators have also questioned a large number of witnesses. Sources suggest that a woman who said she was present at the Florida party that Gaetz also attended swore testimony before the committee. Reportedly, other witnesses have told the committee that they saw Gaetz use in illicit narcotics during parties.
The committee started looking into Gaetz in 2021, but it was put on hold as the Justice Department looked into the matter.
