House Ethics Panel confirms Gaetz to be investigated for alleged sexual misconduct, illicit drug use

The House Ethics Committee confirmed Tuesday that it will continue its long-standing investigation of Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, regarding allegations including sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.

The committee will also investigate Gaetz for possibly accepting improper gifts, distributing privileges to personal relationships and seeking to obstruct government investigations of his conduct, according to NBC News. 

Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing before the committee.

The committee in announcing the ongoing investigation said it will take no further action on allegations including sharing inappropriate media on the House floor, misusing state identification records, bribery and spending of campaign funds for personal use.

Gaetz said on social media Monday that the bipartisan committee was still investigating him and called attention to the four probes closed by the committee.

He also said the investigations “emerged from lies intended solely to smear me.”

Gaetz, the leader of the successful removal of GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, blamed McCarthy and his supporters for the investigation.

“This is Soviet," he wrote. "Kevin McCarthy showed them the man, and they are now trying to find the crime." 

The Ethics panel began the investigation into Gaetz for sexual misconduct and illicit drugs in 2021 when the House was controlled by Democrats. 

The panel said it has had "difficulty" obtaining information from Gaetz and made its decision to move forward after speaking with more than a dozen witnesses, issuing 25 subpoenas and reviewing thousands of pages of documents, NBC also reports. 

The FBI had spent years investigating Gaetz's personal conduct, specifically allegations that he was part of a scheme that led to the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl. The Justice Department informed Gaetz last year that it was ending its investigation without charging him with any crimes.