Illinois U.S. Rep. Sean Casten led charge to force release of Matt Gaetz report
WASHINGTON (CBS) -- Matt Gaetz was a Florida congressman and then a short-lived nominee for Attorney General in the next Trump administration.
On Monday, after months of fighting, the U.S. House Ethics Committee released its report against Gaetz. The charge to force the release was led by U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-Illinois), who represents parts of Chicago's south and west suburbs.
The report came out Monday morning, just hours after a last-ditch effort by Gaetz to keep it under wraps. Congressional ethics investigators found that Gaetz paid numerous women — including a 17-year-old girl — for sex, and also purchased and used illegal drugs, including from his Capitol Hill office.
The report lists payments totaling more than $90,000 to 12 different women between 2017 to 2020, and alleges the money was likely connected to sexual activity and drugs—including cocaine and ecstasy.
The 17-year-old told the committee she recalled "receiving $400 in cash from Gaetz… which she understood to be payment for sex. Victim A said that she did not inform Representative Gaetz that she was under 18 at the time, nor did he ask her age."
Gaetz has denied any improper conduct, and has said the claims were a "smear" invented by his political enemies.
"He has been working very hard for a long period of time to try to prevent this report from coming out," said Casten.
Casten has worked just as hard to make the report public.
"The penalty for Mr. Gaetz is only that this information is public, but what he has done is disgusting," said Gaetz.
What Gaetz is alleged to have done appears not to have any legal concerns moving forward.
"There's not much more that can be done legally," Casten said. "They have indicated in the report that the statute of limitations under Florida law has expired."
Gaetz resigned from Congress in November after Trump announced plans to nominate him for attorney general. But facing opposition from some fellow Republicans, Gaetz withdrew from consideration a week later.
Gaetz then said he plans to spend the coming years fighting for the incoming president.
"It is a real concern that Donald Trump has chosen to nominate people with such problematic history," Casten said.
The House Ethics Committee, which is split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, had been at an impasse over whether to release the report—but voted to do so earlier this month.
Two Republican members of the committee were among those who voted for its release, according to two sources familiar with the vote.
