Matt Gaetz lawsuit: House ethics report 'threatens fundamental constitutional rights'
WASHINGTON ? Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz sued the House Ethics Committee Monday morning to try blocking release of its findings from a multi-year investigation into allegations he had sex with a 17-year-old. The detailed report, however, was released later on Monday.
Gaetz argued the committee doesn't have the authority to release its report since he has resigned from Congress. He also said he would be "irreparably harmed" by its release because he hadn't had enough of a chance to challenge the investigation and the information could defame him.
The committee found evidence Gaetz regularly paid women for sexual activity with him from at least 2017 to 2020, engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old in 2017, had illegal drugs including cocaine and ecstasy from 2017 to 2019, and tried to obstruct the congressional investigation.
"The Committee's apparent intention to release its report after explicitly acknowledging it lacks jurisdiction over former members, its failure to follow constitutional notions of due process, and failure to adhere to its own procedural rules and precedent represents an unprecedented overreach that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections," according to the lawsuit.
In the report, the committee acknowledged it doesn't typically release findings after losing jurisdiction, but said it has done so a few times before after determining it was in the public interest.
"In this instance, although several Committee Members objected, a majority of the Members of the Committee agreed that the Committee’s findings should be released to the public," according to the report.
More: The Matt Gaetz report: Read the House Ethics Committee's full report
The report cites "substantial evidence" that the ex-congressman, who recently withdrew his name as President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, participated in statutory rape, prostitution, and illegal drug use.
It's not clear how the actual release of the report will impact Gaetz's lawsuit. Lawyers for Gaetz didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Jacob Bliss, a spokesperson for Gaetz, directed USA TODAY to Gaetz's X account, where the former congressman suggested he was being accused of participating in prostitution by giving unrequested money to someone he was dating.
"There is a reason they did this to me in a Christmas Eve-Eve report and not in a courtroom of any kind where I could present evidence and challenge witnesses," Gaetz posted.
In his lawsuit, which seeks a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction that would have blocked the report's release, Gaetz says the committee denied him access to the evidence it was gathering during the investigation and a "meaningful opportunity" to respond to specific allegations.
Gaetz "was uncooperative throughout the Committee’s review," according to the report. It says he provided "minimal documentation" responding to committee requests, didn't agree to a voluntary interview, and failed to appear for testimony after receiving a subpoena.
"When faced with serious public allegations against a Member, the Committee will often investigate, and when such allegations are false, the Committee has a shared goal with the respondent to disprove those allegations," according to the report.
Gaetz filed his lawsuit in the Washington, D.C. federal district court.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gaetz sues to block House Ethics report alleging sexual misconduct
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