The House Ethics Committee is investigating allegations that far-right swinger Rep. Matt "Teen Spirit" Gaetz (Insurrection - FL) used illegal drugs while serving in Congress. At the center of the investigation are sworn statements from two women who saw Gaetz at a 2017 party in Florida where cocaine, ecstasy and alcohol were being used. From ABC News:
"According to a sworn written statement that has been obtained by the Ethics committee, a woman says that in summer of 2017, when she was 20 years old, she attended a party in Florida that Gaetz also attended, which featured alcohol and drugs including cocaine and MDMA, sources familiar with the committee's work told ABC News.
In the sworn statement, which has not been previously reported, the woman said that in addition to Gaetz, the party was attended by the then-minor who was at the center of a yearslong Justice Department investigation into accusations that the Florida Congressman had sex with her when she was 17, according to sources.
According to the statement provided to the committee, sources said the woman who made the statement -- who ABC News is not identifying -- said she saw the then-minor naked at the party, which was also attended by adult men other than Gaetz, and that at the party there allegedly were bedrooms that were made available for sexual activities." (our emphasis)
Former House Speaker Kevin "Qevin" McCarthy, a bitter Gaetz nemesis, has said on several occasions that Gaetz has to answer to the allegations that he used illegal drugs and had sex with a minor. The story continues:
"Last week, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy made headlines when he claimed he was ousted because he would not stop the ongoing House Ethics probe into Gaetz.
'I'll give you the truth why I'm not speaker,' McCarthy said at an event at Georgetown University. 'It's because one person, a member of Congress, wanted me to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year-old.'
The House Ethics probe into Gaetz has continued to move forward in recent weeks, with investigators reaching out to more individuals, including young women who were allegedly paid by Gaetz's one-time close friend Joel Greenberg to attend sex parties, sources said."
Gaetz is one of the least liked members of his own party, and he's actively campaigned against some Republican incumbents whom he feels are insufficiently fascist / MAGAt. With a Republican-controlled Ethics Committee, however, he may slip away from this investigation as he did from the Justice Department's.
(photo: "Teen Spirit" looking stressed. Reuters)
