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Matt Gaetz sue Ethics Committee of the House to block the publication of a damning report into accusations he paid for sex with more than ten women, including a 17-year-old girl.
The report follows a lengthy investigation to allegations of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use while a member of Congress, when he allegedly spent tens of thousands of dollars on parties and trips based on sex and drugs.
He is the accused to pay more than $90,000 to at least 12 different women, including a high school student, according to leaking draft reportwhich is expected to be published as early as Monday.
U federal lawsuit filed in Washington, DC, the Florida Republican accused the committee of an “unconstitutional” attempt to “exercise jurisdiction over a private citizen” by publishing a report “containing potentially defamatory allegations.”
He asked the judge to issue an emergency order to block the release of the report. The drafts were already published in several news outlets on Monday morning.
The release of the report would mark “an unprecedented overreach that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections,” the former congressman’s lawyers wrote.
The commission’s release of “reports and/or investigative information” about Gaetz included “false and defamatory information about the plaintiff, which, if made public, would significantly damage the plaintiff’s reputation and reputation in the community,” the lawyers wrote.
“If released, the damage to the prosecutor’s reputation and professional standing would be immediate, serious and irreversible,” they argued.
They warned that the findings would appear to be approved by Congress, that media coverage would be “immediate and widespread,” the charges would “permanently remain in the public record,” there would be no “adequate legal remedy” to retract them, and the government’s legal the protection is likely to prevent him from seeking subsequent damages.
The commission did not immediately return The Independent‘s request for comment.
Last month, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson argued that the committee no longer had jurisdiction over the now-former congressman — who abruptly resigned from Congress when Donald Trump nominated him for attorney general, which Gaetz later dropped after questioning the allegations against him. . .
There is a precedent for publishing such a report after an MP leaves office. In 1987, former Congressman Bill Boehner was the subject of an ethics report two months after leaving office. The committee also released a report on former Congressman Buzz Lukens on the same day he left office in 1990.