The committee could not fully determine whether these payments were compensation for engaging in sexual activity with Gaetz. He allegedly used his associate, Joel Greenberg—currently serving 11 years in prison for crimes committed with Gaetz—as an intermediary. Gaetz reportedly accessed Greenberg's SeekingArrangement.com account, a "luxury dating site," to interact with young women.
Gaetz also made direct payments to women, sometimes via platforms like Venmo, though he often used someone else's PayPal account or one linked to a fake name. The report highlights one instance where Gaetz gave a college student a cheque made out to "cash" with "tuition reimbursement" in the memo, which she said she received after a group encounter, describing it as potentially coercive because she "really needed the money."
Gaetz has defended these payments as gifts, not transactions. However, the committee found that two women, aged 27 and 25, did not view their relationships as transactional. One woman, who was considered his girlfriend, invoked her Fifth Amendment right when asked about receiving money for sex or drugs.
The committee also tried to prove that Gaetz frequently paid for sex, citing a text exchange where Gaetz objected to a woman's request for money after accusing her of "ditching" him. The woman responded that she was "treated differently" than others he paid for sex.
Another text from his then-girlfriend indicated financial constraints, with her referring to "customer appreciation week" and later mentioning that Gaetz would be "generous" because of it.
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As a Congressman, Gaetz earned $174,000 (£138,843) annually, but his net worth was higher, with assets worth at least $575,000 reported in his latest federal financial disclosure. His father, Don Gaetz, co-founder of Vitas Healthcare, has a fortune of around $35 million, according to Forbes.
A trip to the Bahamas was allegedly funded by an associate of Gaetz, who had connections to the medical marijuana industry and paid for female escorts to accompany them. One woman claimed that drug and alcohol use at parties impaired her ability to consent fully.
Gaetz's then-girlfriend, who was 21 when they met and "was paid tens of thousands of dollars" during their two-year relationship, often participated in encounters with women and acted as an intermediary.
One woman, who was 17 at the time, claimed she had sex with Gaetz twice at a party in 2017, once in front of others, while under the influence of ecstasy. She received $400 from him afterward. The committee found no evidence that Gaetz knew she was underage, though the legal age of consent in Florida is 18.
The Department of Justice investigated an allegation of sex with a minor but did not file criminal charges. In 2021, Greenberg pleaded guilty to sex trafficking the same girl.
Gaetz also allegedly directed his chief of staff to expedite a passport application for a woman he was involved with, claiming she was a voter in his district, though she was not. He reportedly gave her $1,000, violating House rules that bar using one's position for special favors.
Gaetz accused the committee of being "weaponized" against him and leaking information to the press. He alleged that the panel was working on behalf of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whom Gaetz had helped attempt to oust from office.
Despite claiming to have voluntarily produced tens of thousands of records, Gaetz provided only a few hundred, most of which were either irrelevant or publicly available. The committee cited his withholding of information about the Bahamas trip as an example of rule violations related to gifts.
The report also noted delays due to the Justice Department's probe into the allegations, with some witnesses requesting the use of statements they gave to the department. The committee declined, citing concerns about deterring future witnesses.
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