April 9, 2021

The House Ethics Committee Is Investigating Matt Gaetz

Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto/Zuma

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The House Ethics Committee has opened an investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who is reportedly also the subject of a Justice Department inquiry into whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her travel, potentially violating federal sex trafficking laws.

In a statement, the committee listed a litany of allegations for which it would be investigating Gaetz: that he may have “engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, in violation of House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct.”

Still, the representative’s legal troubles—and his lack of support from fellow Republicans—haven’t kept him from trying to make a buck:

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A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

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