Matt Gaetz, A Lawyer and Former Congressman Caught In A Sex Scandal – Why Do Powerful Men In American Politics Fall Prey To Such Acts?

Matt Gaetz, the 42 year old former Rep. and lawyer who served as the U.S. representative for Florida’s 1st congressional district from 2017 until his resignation in 2024 – is in the middle of the scandal that has taken the world by storm – he is accused of having paid tens of thousands of dollars to women for sex or drugs on at least 20 occasions, including paying a 17-year-old girl for sex in 2017.

These charges have been substantiated by the The House Ethics Committee, with the committee concluding in its bombshell document that Gaetz violated Florida state laws, including the state’s statutory rape law.

Earlier this month, the House Ethics Committee secretly voted to release its report after initially voting against doing so. The vote to put out the report – which was opposed by panel Chairman Michael Guest, a Mississippi Republican – was the culmination of a yearslong probe into allegations surrounding Gaetz.

The committee posted the report on its website Monday morning while noting in a statement the “significant and unusual amount” of reporting about the panel’s probe of Gaetz. Without identifying specific stories, the committee stated that some reporting about its probe had been “inaccurate.”

The Dark Background

The woman who was at the center of a years long Justice Department investigation into sex trafficking allegations surrounding Rep. Matt Gaetz testified to the House Ethics Committee that the now-former Florida congressman had sex with her when she was 17 years old, the woman is now in her 20s. She sat for multiple days of testimony where she testified to the committee that Gaetz had sex with her when she was a minor in high school

Ironically, President-elect Donald Trump announced that Gaetz had been tapped to serve as attorney general, overseeing the very branch of government that previously conducted its own investigation of him, which ended last year without charges being brought.

Gaetz resigned from office following Trump’s announcement.

Gaetz said in response,

“These allegations are invented and would constitute false testimony to Congress. This false smear following a three-year criminal investigation should be viewed with great skepticism.”

The Justice Department spent years probing the allegations against Gaetz, including allegations of obstruction of justice, before informing Gaetz last year that it would not bring charges.

Gaetz has long denied any wrongdoing related to the Justice Department probe. In September, he released a detailed response to questions sent to him by the House Ethics Committee, which has been investigating allegations of alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, reiterating his denial of the allegations.

The Details

According to the court documents, Gaetz met Greenberg online in 2017 and began meeting in hotels and houses in the Middle District of Florida, where he “introduced the Minor to other adult men, who engaged in commercial sex acts with the Minor in the Middle District of Florida”.

At the time, the minor “represented that she was an adult” on the website where she met Greenberg. According to his plea agreement, he acknowledges that he “acted in reckless disregard of the fact that the Minor was less than 18 years old when he engaged in “commercial sex acts” and had a “reasonable opportunity to observe” that she was underage.

Over the course of its investigation, the House Ethics Committee conducted interviews with at least half a dozen women who allegedly attended parties where the Florida congressman was also present, and who were paid by Greenberg, Gaetz’s one-time close friend.

While, some of the witnesses had been subpoenaed by the committee, others agreed to cooperate, according to the sources.

The Findings

According to the report, the panel investigated transactions Gaetz personally made, often using PayPal or Venmo, to more than a dozen women during his time in Congress.

Investigators also focused on a 2018 trip to the Bahamas – which they said “violated the House gift rule” – during which he “engaged in sexual activity” with multiple women, including one who described the trip itself as “the payment” for sex on the trip. On the same trip, he also took ecstasy, one woman on the trip told the committee.

Although the committee alleged that Gaetz violated state laws, the panel wrote that it did not find he violated federal sex-trafficking laws, writing that

“although Representative Gaetz did cause the transportation of women across state lines for purposes of commercial sex, the Committee did not find evidence that any of those women were under 18 at the time of travel, nor did the Committee find sufficient evidence to conclude that the commercial sex acts were induced by force, fraud, or coercion.”

What Matt Gaetz Said

Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has pointed to the Justice Department declining to bring charges against him in 2023.

“In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated – even some I never dated but who asked. I dated several of these women for years,” Gaetz said. “It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now.”

What The Women Told

The report documents the evidence the committee gathered of Gaetz’s numerous interactions with women who say they were paid for sex by Gaetz and his friend, Joel Greenberg, a former Seminole County tax collector who is serving an 11-year prison sentence and cooperated with federal investigators.

The committee wrote that it spoke to more than half a dozen witnesses who attended parties, trips and events with Gaetz between 2017 and 2020. “Nearly every young woman that the Committee interviewed confirmed that she was paid for sex by, or on behalf of, Representative Gaetz,” the panel wrote.

One of the sexual encounters involved a 17-year-old girl, the committee said. The woman told the committee she had sex with Gaetz twice at a July 2017 party when she was 17.

“The Committee received testimony that Victim A and Representative Gaetz had sex twice during the party, including at least once in the presence of other party attendees,” the committee wrote. “Victim A recalled receiving $400 in cash from Representative Gaetz that evening, which she understood to be payment for sex. At the time, she had just completed her junior year of high school.”

The then-17-year-old did not tell Gaetz she was a minor at the time, and he did not ask her age, the committee found. The committee did not receive any evidence Gaetz was aware of her age. The woman told congressional investigators she was under the influence of ecstasy at the party and that she recalled seeing Gaetz use cocaine at the party.

Gaetz has however denied having sex with a minor.

“I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18,” the Florida Republican wrote on X last week. “Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court – which is why no such claim was ever made in court.”

How Meetings Transpired

The committee found that the sexual encounters were often organized by Greenberg through a website, SeekingArrangement.com.
The panel wrote – “Mr. Greenberg told the Committee that Representative Gaetz was aware that the women they had sex with and paid had met Mr. Greenberg through the ‘sugar dating’ website”.

Congressional investigators found that Gaetz made payment to women using multiple platforms, including PayPal, Venmo and CashApp. The committee listed payments Gaetz made to 12 women, including his former girlfriend, as well as to Greenberg.

The investigators wrote, that Gaetz did not appear to negotiate specific payment amounts for sex with the women he paid.

“Many of the women interviewed by the Committee were clear that there was a general expectation of sex.” “One woman who was paid more than $5,000 by Representative Gaetz between 2018 and 2019 told the Committee that ‘99 percent of the time that (Representative Gaetz and I) were hanging out, there was sex involved.”

Gaetz’s then-girlfriend “appeared to act as an intermediary” between Gaetz and women he paid for sex, the committee found, citing text messages it obtained. In a text message exchange cited by the committee, Greenberg exchanged messages with a woman in September 2018, writing, “If you have a friend that is down, perhaps all four of us can meet up later.”

The woman responded she did have a friend who could meet up, adding, “I usually do $400 per meet.”

Greenberg responded by sending a photo of Gaetz holding out a phone and taking a selfie. “Oooh my friend thinks he’s really cute!” the woman responded.

“Well, he’s down here only for the day, we work hard and play hard,” Greenberg wrote. “Have you ever tried molly.”

The panel wrote that several women told the committee they would not voluntarily participate in the investigation, and some were “clear at first contact that they feared retaliation or were unwilling to voluntarily relive their interactions with Representative Gaetz.”

“While all the women that the Committee interviewed stated their sexual activity with Representative Gaetz was consensual, at least one woman felt that the use of drugs at the parties and events they attended may have ‘impair(ed their) ability to really know what was going on or fully consent,’” the panel wrote. “One woman said, ‘I think about it all the time … . I still see him when I turn on the tv and there’s nothing anyone can do. It’s frustrating to know I lived a reality that he denies.’”

Drug Charges

Committee investigators concluded that between 2017 and 2019, Gaetz “used or possessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, on multiple occasions.” The committee wrote that Gaetz appeared to set up a “pseudonymous e-mail account from his House office in the Capitol complex for the purpose of purchasing marijuana.”

However, Gaetz has denied using illicit drugs in his correspondence with the panel.

The committee investigation also focused on other violations of House rules. That included a September 2018 trip to the Bahamas where the committee found that Gaetz accepted gifts of transportation and lodging in excess of permissible amounts.

Gaetz traveled to the Bahamas with two other men and six women. He flew to the Bahamas on a commercial airline but returned on a private plane, the committee found.

“The attendees stated that this was a social trip — they sunbathed, chartered a boat, and went to dinners and to a casino as a group. Representative Gaetz engaged in sexual activity with at least four of the women on the trip,” the committee wrote.

The Justice Department had investigated whether the Bahamas trip was part of an effort to illegally influence Gaetz in the area of medical marijuana.

The House Ethics Committee probe also found that Gaetz helped a woman he met through Greenberg and had sex with to obtain a new passport. Committee investigators wrote that Gaetz connected the woman with his chief of staff, and Gaetz’s top aide helped the woman get an appointment at a Miami passport office, saying she was his constituent even though she lived outside Gaetz’s district.

Why Do Powerful Men in American Politics Fall Prey to Such Allegations?

The phenomenon of powerful men in American politics facing allegations of misconduct, including sexual offenses, is a complicated question, perhaps it has largely to do with access to Power and Resources.

Politicians, especially those in positions of influence, have access to vast resources, including money, power, and networks. This often puts them in situations where they can exploit their position to fulfill personal desires. Their wealth and influence can/may shield them from immediate consequences, allowing their behavior to go unchecked for longer periods.

Many powerful individuals may also develop a sense of entitlement, believing they are above the law or societal norms resulting in risky or unethical behavior, including exploitation. The feeling of being immune to scrutiny or punishment as their positions can often afford them the luxury of thinking they can escape accountability.

Power and privilege can often playout the harmful effects of traditional gender dynamics. Toxic masculinity, which promotes dominance, control, and entitlement over others, can flourish in environments where power imbalances are the norm. This dynamic can create a culture where exploitation, harassment, and abuse are normalized or even encouraged.

Further in most cases, politics often operates behind closed doors, where secrecy is prized, and public image is meticulously crafted. This creates a fertile ground for scandals to be hidden or minimized until they explode in the public eye.

Many powerful figures have engaged in risky or unethical behavior because they believe they can keep it under wraps. For some, the allure of power may come with a need to exert control over others, particularly in ways that are manipulative or coercive.
The thrill of evading consequences can also act as a psychological driver, where individuals feel invincible and above reproach.

In some cases, individuals who engage in misconduct are surrounded by others who enable or protect them.

The heady combination of power, entitlement, secrecy, and a lack of accountability often leads to dangerous environments where allegations of sexual misconduct or other offenses can thrive – until they are caught!