The House Ethics Committee has reportedly broadened its investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz, reaching out to the woman who was allegedly involved in a sexual relationship with the congressman when she was a minor, according to an insider familiar with the committee’s proceedings. This development, previously unreported, indicates that the GOP-led committee’s investigation into the Florida Republican now includes inquiries into allegations of sex crimes.
It has also been revealed that the committee has requested materials from the Justice Department’s investigation into Gaetz, which encompassed allegations of lobbying violations, sex-trafficking, and potential obstruction of justice. The federal probe, which concluded in 2023 without any charges against Gaetz, also examined allegations of sexual involvement with a minor.
Despite the allegations, Gaetz has consistently maintained his innocence, denying any sexual involvement with a minor or paying for sex. “Those allegations were not true, have never been true, and the people who spread those lies have been exposed, indicted, and imprisoned,” Gaetz stated in response to CNN on Wednesday.
The Ethics Committee’s recent outreach to the young woman and the Justice Department coincides with a surge of activity in the probe, including reaching out to multiple other witnesses and initiating witness interviews. This increased activity under Republican leadership is significant, considering the committee probe was initiated by House Democrats in 2021.
Gaetz, who spearheaded the movement to remove former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, has privately accused McCarthy of being responsible for the committee resuming its probe under his watch. However, McCarthy has consistently refuted these accusations, stating that Gaetz’s efforts to remove him were motivated by the ethics probe.
“I don’t believe them to be conservatives,” McCarthy stated in November, referring to the eight Republicans who voted to remove him. “It’s driven by Gaetz, and it was all based upon an ethics complaint that happened in the last Congress. He would throw his country away to try to protect himself for what would come out as the truth.”
Both the Ethics Committee and the Department of Justice declined to comment. The Justice Department is not obligated to comply with a voluntary request from the House Ethics Committee, according to Norman Eisen, who served as counsel to House Democrats in former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment.
“If a request seems merited, as part of the usual accommodation process between the legislative and executive branches, DOJ will sometimes provide some information,” Eisen said, “but they tend to be withholding of sensitive investigative materials.”
The Justice Department, under Trump-appointed Attorney General Bill Barr, initiated an investigation into allegations that Gaetz may have had sexual contact with a minor in late 2020. The probe expanded over the years before the Justice Department officially decided last year not to charge the congressman.
As part of the extensive investigation, Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector and close confidant of Gaetz, pleaded guilty in 2021 to six federal charges, including soliciting and paying the minor in the Gaetz allegation for sex.
The Ethics Committee, controlled at the time by Democrats, initially opened its Gaetz investigation in 2021, publicly announcing that it was examining a range of allegations including that Gaetz violated sex trafficking laws, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, used illicit drugs, converted campaign funds to personal use and accepted a bribe, among other claims.
The committee deferred its investigation at the request of the Justice Department, which was simultaneously probing the allegations, but resumed its work after the DOJ concluded its investigation without bringing charges. An insider familiar with the House panel’s work previously told CNN that the Justice Department’s decision not to bring charges against Gaetz does not impact what the committee will and won’t investigate. The committee plans to examine the same allegations they were looking into when they opened the investigation in 2021, the source told CNN.