Matt Gaetz sues ethics committee to block ‘defamatory’ report
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Matt Gaetz has filed a lawsuit against the House Ethics Committee in a final effort to prevent the release of a damaging report that claims he paid for sexual encounters with over a dozen women, one of whom was just 17 years old.
The document comes after an extensive inquiry into claims of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use during his time as a member of Congress. It is said that he reportedly spent significant amounts of money on parties and trips fueled by sex and drugs.
According to a report released on Monday after Gaetz initiated his lawsuit, he is alleged to have paid over $90,000 to at least 12 women, one of whom is a high school student.
In a federal lawsuit lodged in Washington, D.C., a Republican from Florida claims that the committee is improperly trying to assert authority over a private individual. The lawsuit contends that the committee's release of a report includes allegations that could be damaging to his reputation and violates constitutional rights.
He requested that a judge put a temporary hold on the report's release after multiple news outlets had already shared drafts of it on Monday morning.
The individual Donald Trump originally chose to serve as the next attorney general of the United States received a message from a court clerk informing him that he had submitted the complaint incorrectly.
Releasing the report would represent a significant and unjustified expansion of authority that jeopardizes core constitutional rights and established legal safeguards, according to the former congressman's lawyers.
The committee has made public certain "reports and/or investigative details" related to Gaetz, which contain "false and slanderous claims about the Plaintiff. If this information is disclosed to the public, it could severely harm the Plaintiff's reputation and standing within the community," the lawyers stated.
They argued that, once made public, the harm to the Plaintiff's reputation and professional credibility would be swift, significant, and impossible to undo.
They cautioned that the results might seem to have the approval of Congress, news coverage would be “quick and extensive,” accusations would “forever stay in the public domain,” there’s no “sufficient way” to take them back, and legal protections from the government would probably stop him from pursuing further compensation.
The committee did not respond right away to The Independent's request for a comment.
After the report was released without any court intervention, Gaetz's lawyers stated that their appeal for a restraining order was no longer relevant and expressed that Gaetz has experienced "permanent and irreversible damage."
In the previous month, Mike Johnson, the Republican House Speaker, claimed that the committee no longer has authority over the former congressman. The congressman had stepped down unexpectedly after Trump put him forward for the position of U.S. attorney general, a endorsement that Gaetz later withdrew following a closer look at the accusations made against him.
There is a history of issuing reports like this after a politician vacates their position. For instance, in 1987, an ethics report was made public regarding former Congressman Bill Boner just two months after he departed from his role. Similarly, on the day former Congressman Buz Lukens left office in 1990, a report about him was also released.
