The House Ethics Committee is apparently investigating whether Florida Representative Matt Gaetz has taken illicit drugs since becoming a member of Congress, adding to the panel’s list of complaints.
According to ABC News, workers for the bipartisan, evenly divided House subcommittee questioned witnesses about whether Mr. Gaetz was under the influence of illegal substances at parties he visited after the start of his first term in January 2017.
According to various sources familiar with the case, the panel acquired a sworn written statement from a female witness who described what she saw at a party in Florida where the congressman was present.
The statement also includes descriptions of illicit drugs found at the party, such as cocaine and ecstasy, as well as a passage indicating that the party was also attended by a then-17-year-old woman who had previously been the subject of a years-long Department of Justice investigation into whether Mr. Gaetz had sexual contact with her when she was under the legal age of consent.
According to the article, the woman who provided the testimony said she observed the then-minor at the party without clothes on. She also mentioned the presence of several adult men and the use of bedrooms for sexual activity at the party venue.
A source told ABC that the statement in question was not written for the ethics panel and was not “primarily” about Mr. Gaetz. It also makes no mention of whether Mr. Gaetz had sex with the juvenile at the time.
Mr. Gaetz has frequently and vehemently denied any misconduct, and in 2023 he was informed that he will face no criminal charges as a consequence of the lengthy investigation.
However, the House panel is still investigating the claims and could recommend censure or removal of the Florida firebrand from the chamber.
The lengthy House investigation is said to be the reason Mr. Gaetz attempted to fire then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year.
Last month, Mr. McCarthy told CBS News that Mr. Gaetz submitted the move to quit the speakership, which resulted in his expulsion, after he refused to halt the ethics investigation, which had been dormant for years but gained traction once the Justice Department probe was concluded.
“It was purely Matt coming to me trying… [to get] me to do something illegal to stop the Ethics Committee from moving forward in an investigation that was started long before I became speaker,” he told reporters.
