Matt Gaetz sues ethics committee to block ‘defamatory’ report
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Matt Gaetz has taken legal action against the House Ethics Committee in a final effort to prevent the release of a troubling report regarding claims that he paid for sexual encounters with over a dozen women, one of whom is a 17-year-old girl.
The report comes after an extensive inquiry into accusations of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use during his time as a Congressman. It's claimed that he spent large sums of money on parties and trips involving sex and drugs.
He faces allegations of disbursing over $90,000 to at least 12 women, one of whom is a high school student. This information was revealed in a report released on Monday, following Gaetz's filing of his lawsuit.
In a federal lawsuit submitted in Washington, D.C., a Republican representative from Florida claimed that the committee is engaging in an "unconstitutional" effort to "assert authority over a private individual" by publishing a report that includes potentially damaging accusations.
He requested a judge to put an emergency hold on the report's publication after several news organizations had already released drafts of it early Monday morning.
The individual Donald Trump first selected to become the next attorney general of the United States received a message from a court clerk informing him that he made an error in submitting the complaint.
Releasing the report would represent an unprecedented overstep that poses a risk to essential constitutional rights and established legal safeguards, according to the former congressman's lawyers.
The committee has shared “reports and/or investigative information” about Gaetz that contains “false and damaging information about the Plaintiff. If this information were to be made public, it could greatly harm the Plaintiff’s reputation and standing within the community,” the attorneys stated.
"They contended that once it comes out, the harm to the Plaintiff's reputation and professional status would be instant, significant, and unable to be undone."
They cautioned that the results could seem to be backed by Congress, with news coverage likely to be rapid and extensive. They noted that the accusations would be permanently documented in public, and there is no proper way to take them back. Moreover, government legal protections might restrict him from pursuing any further compensation.
The committee did not respond right away to The Independent's request for a statement.
After the report was released without any intervention from the courts, Gaetz's lawyers claimed that their appeal for a restraining order was no longer relevant, stating that Gaetz has already endured permanent and undeniable damage.
In the previous month, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson stated that the committee no longer has authority over the ex-congressman. This came after the congressman unexpectedly stepped down from his position following Trump’s nomination of him for U.S. attorney general. However, Gaetz later distanced himself from that nomination after facing scrutiny over allegations against him.
There is a history of issuing such reports after a politician has completed their term. For instance, in 1987, ex-Congressman Bill Boner was involved in an ethics investigation that came out two months after his departure from office. Additionally, the committee published a report regarding former Congressman Buz Lukens on the very day he left office in 1990.
