Gaetz speaks to media outside the U.S. Capitol.
Matt Gaetz speaks to media outside the U.S. Capitol. Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via AP

Matt Gaetz May Have Just Killed the Ethics Report, but Court Filings Paint a Damning Picture

Unreported facts referenced in court depositions make it clear that Gaetz sent thousands of dollars to young women, attended sex parties where a 17-year-old was present and kept tabs on witnesses throughout the DOJ investigation.

Matt Gaetz speaks to media outside the U.S. Capitol. Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via AP

Matt Gaetz’s decision on Thursday to end his bid to be the nation’s next attorney general makes it even more unlikely that the American public will ever see what the House Ethics Committee uncovered about the former congressman’s underage sex scandal. But there’s one fact Gaetz would probably prefer everyone to ignore: much of the information is already public.

It just takes some digging.

According to a deposition with one of Gaetz’s closest friends and financial information referenced during that testimony, the former congressman sent thousands of dollars to young women. He attended sex parties where a 17-year-old was present, according to three different affidavits from women in attendance. And he blew off a subpoena investigating him for sex trafficking, resulting in the FBI seizing his cell phone.