Reps. Matt Gaetz and Tom Reed under House ethics investigation over sexual misconduct scandals
The House Ethics Committee has launched investigations into separate sexual misconduct scandals ensnaring Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Tom Reed of New York, raising the specter that they could face expulsion from Congress over their alleged behavior.
The ethics panel, which has the power to recommend the full House to expel or otherwise reprimand members, said in statements Friday that the investigations are warranted because of public allegations that Reed and Gaetz engaged in “sexual misconduct” and other purported activities “in violation of House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct.”
Reed has been accused by a Republican lobbyist of inappropriately touching her during a fundraising trip in 2017.
After at first denying the allegations, the upstate New York congressman apologized to the lobbyist last month, blamed past struggles with alcoholism and announced he won’t seek reelection at the end of this term.
In light of Friday’s announcement, Reed said: “We have already publicly addressed this situation and consistent with that are cooperating with the House Ethics Committee to bring this matter to conclusion.”
Gaetz, who is facing more serious allegations of sexually trafficking a teenager, remained defiant despite the House Ethics Committee investigation.
“These allegations are blatantly false and have not been validated by a single human being willing to put their name behind them,” Gaetz’s office said.
The House Ethics Committee’s Gaetz statement, which was issued jointly by Chairman Ted Deutsch (D-Fla.) and Ranking Member Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.), listed off a dizzying array of accusations facing the Sunshine State Republican.
“Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift,” the statement said.
The ethics investigation may still be the least of Gaetz’s worries.
The Justice Department is investigating the 38-year-old congressman over allegations that he covered expenses or gave gifts to an unidentified 17-year-old girl in exchange for her to travel with him across state lines for sex. He also faces accusations that he took drugs, including ecstasy, with some of his alleged lovers and showed off photos of his escapades to other lawmakers while on the House floor.
According to reports, the Justice Department probe is reviewing whether Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws. Convictions in such cases usually result in hefty prison sentences.
Gaetz, a controversial conservative and one of former President Donald Trump’s most ardent allies in Congress, has strenuously denied the serious accusations against him. He has claimed the allegations were cooked up by individuals who are trying to extort his family for cash.
The Justice Department inquiry into Gaetz grew out of a larger investigation into Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector and friend of the three-term congressman, according to reports.
Greenberg, who has been indicted on sex trafficking charges, is accused of having sex with the same 17-year-old girl as Gaetz.
In a potentially troubling development for Gaetz, federal prosecutors said in court Thursday that Greenberg is working toward striking a plea deal with them, which would likely require him to cooperate in their investigation.
With his legal woes piling up, Gaetz’s office announced earlier Friday that he has hired a couple of high-powered attorneys from New York to represent him in the Justice Department investigation.
The attorneys, Marc Mukasey and Isabelle Kirshner, will help Gaetz mount a “fight” against the prosecutors investigating him, a spokeswoman said.
“He’s going to fight back against the unfounded allegations against him,” the spokeswoman said, adding that Mukasey and Kirshner “will take the fight to those trying to smear his name with falsehoods.”
