The ethics report that exposed some of the illicit behavior of Republican former congressman Matt Gaetz was released due to votes from two of his GOP colleagues.
The sordid report revealed that Gaetz paid over $90,000 for sex, including with a minor, and handed out illicit drug ‘party favors.’
However, the allegations might have never seen the light of day had two Republicans not voted to put it out just in time for Christmas, weeks after Gaetz resigned from Congress for his doomed run to become Attorney General.
Dave Joyce of Ohio and Andrew Garbarino of New York joined Democrats on the House Ethics Committee to give them the majority necessary to release the dossier, Axios reported.
After voting against releasing the report, going along with their party, in November, the two GOP members sided with the left in a quiet vote that took place earlier in December to seal Gaetz’s fate.
Joyce is part of moderate Republican governance groups but has remained an ardent supporter of Donald Trump and voted with him 93.8% of the time in his first term.
The Ohio representative has bucked the party before recently, as he was the only GOP member of the House to vote against holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for refusing to release audiotapes of President Biden’s interview.
He won re-election to a seventh term in Ohio’s 14th District in November by 27 points.
The ethics report that brought to light some of the behavior of Republican former congressman Matt Gaetz was released due to votes from two of his GOP colleagues
Dave Joyce of Ohio joined Democrats on the House Ethics Committee to give them the majority necessary to release the dossier
Garbarino represents a somewhat more moderate district on Long Island but still won a third term by 19 points, after eking out seven-point victories his first two runs.
He holds somewhat moderate positions on LGBTQ+ rights, having co-sponsored the Fairness for All Act, the Republican alternative to the Equality Act.
Both were among the 35 Republicans who voted to establish the January 6 commission and both are members of the cross-party, ‘moderate’ Problem Solvers Caucus.
Neither has confirmed their vote or given any statement as to why they chose to release the documents.
DailyMail.com has reached out to spokespersons for both Congressman Garbarino and Congressman Joyce for comment.
Gaetz, 42, made the payments to women for sex while he was a member of Congress, the House Ethics Committee investigation found.
The bipartisan report, released on Monday, said: ‘From 2017 to 2020, Representative Gaetz made tens of thousands of dollars in payments to women that the Committee determined were likely in connection with sexual activity and/or drug use.’
Gaetz spent more than $90,000 given to 12 different women, the report said.
Andrew Garbarino represents a somewhat more moderate district on Long Island but still won a third term by 19 points, after eking out seven-point victories his first two runs. He also voted to release the dossier
The report included details of two sexual encounters that he had with a 17-year-old girl identified as ‘Victim A.’
It stated: ‘Victim A recalled receiving $400 in cash from Representative Gaetz that evening, which she understood to be payment for sex.
‘Victim A said that she did not inform Representative Gaetz that she was under 18 at the time, nor did he ask her age.’
In a failed bid to prevent the report’s release Gaetz filed a last-minute lawsuit against the Ethics panel saying damage to his reputation and professional standing would be ‘severe and irreversible.’
His lawyers said the report included ‘untruthful and defamatory information’ and the committee no longer had jurisdiction over a former member of Congress.
The report notes that all the women who testified before the committee called their sexual encounters with Gaetz ‘consensual.’
Gaetz has maintained his innocence throughout the investigation, even admitting last week that he ‘womanized and partied’ more than he should have in his 20s.
‘My 30’s were an era of working very hard – and playing hard too. It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life,’ Gaetz wrote on X.
Matt Gaetz and his wife Ginger Luckey Gaetz
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz responded to the news reports that the House Ethics Committee report would be released in coming days by saying that his conduct was ’embarrassing, though not criminal’
The former congressman insisted that he ‘NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18’ and pointed to the Justice Department’s ‘complete exoneration’ of him.
He says that now, he lives ‘a different life’ with his wife Ginger in Florida.
Gaetz is rumored to be seeking to fill Sen. Marco Rubio’s soon to be vacant Senate seat as he takes the role of Trump’s Secretary of Sate.
The report also found ‘substantial evidence’ that the Republican used illegal drugs including cocaine and ecstasy.
Gaetz, according to the committee, referred to drugs as ‘party favors’ and ‘vitamins.’
It also found that Gaetz created a fake email account for the purpose of buying weed.
The ex-congressman has denied that he ever used illegal drugs during this period of his life.
Last week, the committee voted to release its report on former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz’s conduct in a stunning reversal.
Matt Gaetz speaks at a 2024 campaign rally for former US President Donald Trump in Waco, Texas, March 25, 2023.
The same committee had voted along party lines last month to keep the report secret after President-elect tapped Gaetz, a top MAGA Congressional ally, to serve as attorney general.
Gaetz pulled out of the process after it was determined his bid wouldn’t get through the Senate, with Trump replacing him with former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The Florida congressman resigned from Congress in mid-November after being named as Trump’s attorney general pick and later said he wouldn’t retake the Florida congressional seat that he won in the November 5 general election.
It’s rare that an Ethics Committee report is being released after a member resigned from Congress and the decision to release it means some Republicans changed their votes and sided with Democrats on making the findings public.
The Ethics Committee investigation was a years-long look into allegations against Gaetz including sexual misconduct, whether the Florida Republican used illicit drugs and whether he ‘shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor.’
It also examined whether he ‘misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gifts,’ according to a description of the investigation released last summer.
