What to know about the Matt Gaetz investigation

Matt Gaetz's way to pb the US Department of Justice ended aft misconduct allegations analyzable the erstwhile Florida congressman's way to confirmation.

President-elect Trump had chosen Gaetz to service arsenic Attorney General, America's apical instrumentality enforcement officer. On X, formerly Twitter, the 42-year-old said the statement implicit his past and fittingness for the relation "was unfairly becoming a distraction" to the enactment of the incoming Trump administration.

The Florida lawmaker is the taxable of a long-running probe by a legislature morals sheet into a fig of claims involving drugs, bribes and sex. Here's each you request to cognize astir reports.

A pistillate who attended a 2017 enactment with him has testified to the House committee that she saw the then-congressman having enactment with a minor, her lawyer has said.

The aforesaid lawyer alleged connected Monday that this witnesser and different woman were paid by Gaetz to person enactment with him.

Gaetz has denied immoderate wrongdoing and called the probe into him a "smear campaign".

The Department of Justice (DoJ) - which Gaetz would pb successful the station - besides investigated the assertion involving the insignificant but yet did not record immoderate transgression charges against him.

When helium learned of his information by President-elect Donald Trump, helium resigned from Congress, putting him retired of scope of the probe by the morals sheet - which deadlocked connected whether to merchandise their findings.

Pressure was gathering for it to people its study connected the alleged misconduct earlier Gaetz withdrew his information entirely.

Gaetz, 42, represented Florida's archetypal legislature territory successful the US House of Representatives.

He came to powerfulness successful the aforesaid predetermination successful 2016 that propelled Donald Trump to the White House.

A fierce Trump defender, helium has agelong upset Democrats but besides galore Republicans with his bombastic nationalist behaviour and alleged hard-partying lifestyle.

On and disconnected since 2021, the secretive House Ethics Committee has investigated Gaetz implicit assorted allegations, including the assertion that helium had enactment with an underage girl, utilized illicit drugs, accepted bribes, misused run funds and shared inappropriate images connected the House floor.

The Floridian has repeatedly and vehemently denied wrongdoing, casting the probe arsenic an effort to smear his sanction by almighty enemies helium has made successful politics.

He has besides raised successful his defence the information that the DoJ ended a abstracted three-year, national sex-trafficking probe past twelvemonth by deciding not to bring charges against him.

"Lies were Weaponized to effort to destruct me," Gaetz posted connected X connected Friday.

"These lies resulted successful prosecution, conviction, and prison. For the liars, not me."

Joel Greenberg, Gaetz's one-time friend, was the lone idiosyncratic charged successful the DoJ's enactment trafficking investigation. He cooperated with investigators and reportedly told prosecutors accusation astir aggregate others, including Gaetz.

Greenberg is currently serving an 11-year situation sentence aft agreeing to plead blameworthy to aggregate national charges, including under-age enactment trafficking, ligament fraud, stalking, individuality theft, producing a fake ID card, and conspiring to defraud the US government.

As portion of his practice with national prosecutors, Greenberg admitted helium had repeatedly paid young women to be parties with him and his friends, wherever they utilized drugs and had sex.

At slightest 1 of the girls helium paid for enactment was 17 years aged astatine the clip - and Greenberg alleged that Gaetz had besides had enactment with her - a assertion national authorities investigated but were incapable to verify.

No charges were filed against Gaetz, who has fiercely denied these allegations, and the national probe was aboriginal closed.

The legislature probe continued and it was reportedly owed to merchandise its findings but that was halted erstwhile Trump announced helium wanted Gaetz to pb the DoJ.

Gaetz's information arsenic lawyer wide was followed hours aboriginal with his resignation from the House, which halted the merchandise of the investigation's findings.

His departure from Congress means helium is nary longer nether legislature jurisdiction.

Joel Leppard, who represents the then-minor with whom Gaetz is accused of having sex, has called for the report's release. He said the then-minor testified to the committee that she had enactment with Gaetz portion "she was a precocious schoolhouse student, and determination were witnesses".

He said 1 of his different clients said she had witnessed Gaetz having enactment with the then-17-year-old.

CBS News, the BBC's US partner, has learned that the committee has heard from astatine slightest 4 women who accidental they were paid to be parties with drugs and enactment wherever Gaetz was allegedly present.

Mr Leppard told CBS connected Monday that the sheet had seen grounds of transactions connected the Venmo mobile app betwixt Gaetz and the women, which they alleged was utilized to wage for sex.

Gaetz has denied having enactment with a insignificant oregon paying women for sex.

Sitting House Speaker Mike Johnson argued against the report's merchandise successful a Sunday quality connected Fox News, saying it could "open Pandora's box" if the sheet started issuing reports astir those who are not members of the body.

"We don't contented investigations and morals reports connected radical who are not members of Congress," helium said. "I deliberation this would beryllium a breach of protocol that could beryllium unsafe for america going guardant successful the future."

He besides told reporters that helium would "strongly request" the study isn't made nationalist due to the fact that the rules outline that "a erstwhile subordinate is beyond the jurisdiction of the morals committee".

Members of the committee met Wednesday, but failed to travel to an statement astir whether to merchandise the report, according to US media. A spokesperson declined to remark erstwhile reached by the BBC.

Gaetz's withdrawal of his information further complicates the report's future. Though helium resigned his existent bureau successful this Congress, the destiny of the study could beryllium connected whether the person chooses to instrumentality the House spot helium was elected to service successful adjacent year.

Gaetz was already struggling to find enactment wrong the Senate, which evaluates and confirms a president's staffing choices for cardinal positions, including lawyer general.

He appeared to autumn abbreviated of the 50 votes needed successful the body, though it would not person voted until aft Trump takes bureau connected 20 January.

The confirmation proceeding for Gaetz would person required immoderate of these salacious allegations being considered successful public.

Trump initially stood by Gaetz, calling Republicans straight to property them to backmost him according to Axios reports.

On Thursday, Trump posted connected societal media that helium remained supportive of Gaetz but understood his determination to withdraw.

"He was doing precise good but, astatine the aforesaid time, did not privation to beryllium a distraction for the Administration, for which helium has overmuch respect," Trump wrote connected Truth Social. "Matt has a fantastic future, and I look guardant to watching each of the large things helium volition do!"