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Former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s resignation from Congress has not prevented the House Ethics Committee from releasing a highly unusual report investigating both his professional and private life. Begun during former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s 117th Congress, the report focuses on a figure who is no longer a sitting member — a rare move for a committee that typically investigates current lawmakers.
Gaetz, who resigned to pursue a nomination for U.S. Attorney General, ultimately abandoned his bid after parts of the report surfaced. He now hosts a program on One America News. His chances of returning to elected office appear slim, with even supporters likening his current political prospects to the punchline of the famous Simpsons meme: “Stop! Stop! He’s already dead!”
Yet, the content and release of the Gaetz ethics report deserve closer scrutiny, particularly as some in the media treat the findings as an unchallenged truth — an implicit admission of guilt by Gaetz himself.
The report makes serious accusations, including that Gaetz allegedly paid women to travel for commercial sex and used substances like cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana. However, as Gaetz remarked in a 2021 Washington Examiner Op-Ed after earlier accusations surfaced, “I am a representative in Congress, not a monk, and certainly not a criminal. My personal life is and always has been conducted on my own time and my own dime. Consensual adult relationships are not illegal.”
He continued: “Although I’m sure some partisan crooks in Merrick Garland’s Justice Department want to pervert the truth and the law to go after me, I will not be intimidated or extorted. My lifestyle of yesteryear may be different from how I live now, but it was not and is not illegal.”
Gaetz did not address specific allegations of drug use in the Op-Ed, leaving many to speculate. Nevertheless, critics of the ethics report argue that its release is less about Gaetz’s conduct and more about establishing precedent for targeting political opponents, particularly allies of Donald Trump.
Problems with the Report
One of the report’s notable critics is Mollie Hemingway of The Federalist, who has highlighted inconsistencies and factual errors in its claims. Recently, a letter from Chris Dorworth, a friend of Gaetz mentioned in the report, was sent to House Ethics Committee Chair Rep. Michael Guest, calling out three specific inaccuracies.
First, the report claimed Dorworth believed Gaetz invited individuals to his home on a specific evening in July 2017 when an alleged incident involving a minor reportedly occurred. However, Dorworth’s letter stated unequivocally, “Mr. Dorworth did not and has never believed that Representative Gaetz invited people to his house on July 15, 2017.” The footnotes provided as evidence, including gate logs and affidavits, fail to corroborate the claim, Dorworth’s letter emphasized.
Second, the report alleged that Dorworth was confronted with cellphone records during his deposition proving he was present at the residence in question. Dorworth’s attorney firmly denied this, noting that no such confrontation occurred and that the referenced records were designated “Attorneys Eyes Only” and never discussed with Dorworth himself.
Third, the report accused Dorworth’s counsel of failing to clarify his testimony regarding his whereabouts on the night of the alleged incident. The attorney refuted this claim, stating he had emailed the Ethics Committee staff directly in September.
Hemingway highlighted these inaccuracies, pointing to the broader credibility issues they pose: “The House ‘Ethics’ Committee is caught here just flat-out lying about three things in its report on Matt Gaetz.”
Questionable Witnesses
The reliability of witnesses central to the report has also come under scrutiny. According to The Washington Post, one key witness is a former tax official convicted of crimes including sex trafficking of a minor. He is currently serving time in prison after agreeing to cooperate with investigators. Another witness — allegedly the minor involved in the most serious claim against Gaetz — has provided testimony that, according to The Post, “veteran prosecutors feel would not pass muster with a jury.”
Even the Biden Department of Justice dropped its investigation into Gaetz in 2022, citing the unreliability of these witnesses. If the DOJ, no friend to Gaetz or other Trump allies, saw insufficient evidence, why was this report published?
The Risks of Precedent
The release of the Gaetz ethics report, rife with factual inaccuracies and based on questionable sources, sets a troubling precedent. If such reports can target former members of Congress with dubious evidence, similar tactics could be used against politicians across the spectrum.
As Hemingway noted, the implications could ripple far beyond this one case. Pandora’s Box, once opened, is difficult to close. And with precedent now broken, both parties risk endless cycles of scandal warfare fueled by selective leaks, unreliable testimony, and partisan objectives.
The message is clear: the House Ethics Committee’s actions are not about justice but political retribution. And as Democrats and RINOs celebrate their latest maneuver, they should remember one thing: political weapons rarely remain in the hands of the same wielder.
