Matt Gaetz controversy: What to know about sexual misconduct allegations as he withdraws as Trump’s attorney general pick
Matt Gaetz has withdrawn himself from consideration for the role of Donald Trump’s attorney general.
The former Florida congressman announced he was ending his bid to head up the Justice Department on Thursday, saying he had become “a distraction” to the future Trump-Vance administration.
His withdrawal comes following a week of intense scrutiny over resurfaced allegations of wrongdoing, including a federal sex trafficking probe – that ended without charges – and a House ethics inquiry. He vehemently denies the allegations.
“I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback - and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz posted on X about his decision to drop out.
“There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.”
He added: “I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.”
Trump said in a statement on Truth Social that he “greatly appreciate[d]” Gaetz’s efforts in seeking approval for attorney general. “He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect,” Trump said.
When he was nominated on November 13, it sent shockwaves through Congress, where the Senate would have voted on Gaetz’s confirmation. Senator Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, told The Independent the announcement sounded like a headline in The Onion, while Republican Senator Thom Tillis told reporters: “I’m sure it’ll make for a popcorn-eating confirmation.”
In a statement at the time, the president-elect had praised Gaetz, 42, who has frequently defended Trump and criticized the various criminal and congressional probes against the Republican.
“On the House Judiciary Committee, which performs oversight of DOJ, Matt played a key role in defeating the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, and exposing alarming and systemic Government Corruption and Weaponization,” Trump wrote, calling Gaetz a “Champion for the Constitution and the Rule of Law.”
Here’s what you need to know about Gaetz, who was once dubbed the “Trumpiest Congressman” in Washington:
Who is Matt Gaetz?
Gaetz, an attorney by trade, was elected to Congress in 2016 to represent Florida’s first district, after previously serving in the Florida House. Gaetz is the son of prominent Florida politician Don Gaetz.
Gaetz resigned from Congress on November 13 as soon as Trump made his attorney general announcement.
Matt Gaetz attended William & Mary Law School and is married to Ginger Gaetz, sister of technology entrepreneur Palmer Luckey, founder of the companies Oculus and Anduril, who has funded Republican political causes.
Also within the family is Nestor Galban, Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend’s brother, whom he has raised as a son.
Why was Matt Gaetz investigated?
Gaetz became part of a DOJ federal sex trafficking investigation which was opened in the final months of Trump’s administration, targeting a former associate, Joel Greenberg. The pair were part of a group of Florida Republicans described in news reports as attending parties where participants used drugs and paid women for sex.
Among the allegations against Gaetz was that he had paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl – an allegation he has vehemently denied.
In 2021, Greenberg pleaded guilty to federal crimes including sex trafficking of a minor, identity theft, stalking, wire fraud, and conspiracy to bribe a public official, and received an 11-year sentence.
In 2023, the Department of Justice declined to seek charges against the former congressman.
Gaetz was also the subject of a House ethics inquiry, which featured interviews with witnesses from the federal probe, who alleged they attended the parties where Gaetz was with women who were paid by Greenberg.
The House Ethics Committee was set to release the findings of its years-long probe last week, two days after Gaetz’s attorney general nod. His resignation killed the investigation as he no longer fell under the committee’s jurisdiction.
The committee has been facing calls for the last week, including from several Republicans, to still make its report public. In a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, the committee members voted along party lines – leaving them deadlocked as to what to do with the report. It has still not been publicly shared.
Despite no criminal charges and the ethics committee findings remaining under lock-and-key, in the days following Gaetz’s nomination, new details about the allegations against him came to light.
Joel Leppard, a lawyer representing two women who testified in the summer in front of the House Ethics Committee, shared new details about the damning evidence his clients gave.
The attorney said their testimony included claims that one of the women saw Gaetz have sex with the 17-year-old girl, which he vehemently denies.
“My client testified to the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed Matt Gaetz having sex with a minor,” Leppard told ABC, urging the committee to release the report.
Leppard also told the network that the women testified that Gaetz paid them to cross state lines in January 2018 and have sex with him on at least two occasions.
A bombshell document from the Justice Department investigation was also leaked, alleging there was a web of payments between the former congressman and friends and associates said to have been with him at drug-fueled sex parties.
The meticulously detailed diagram, obtained by the New York Times, was assembled by federal investigators during the sex-trafficking investigation into Gaetz.
It charts how Gaetz and associates, including convicted sex trafficker Greenberg, allegedly sent thousands of dollars via Venmo to dozens of people who were reportedly involved in the sex parties between 2017 and 2020, according to testimony to federal and congressional investigators, the Times reported.
Prior to his withdrawal, Trump’s communications director, Steven Cheung, said: “This purposeful leaking of classified investigative materials is the sort of politicized D.O.J. weaponization that Matt Gaetz will end.
“The Justice Department investigated Gaetz for years, failed to find a crime and are now leaking material with false information to smear the next attorney general.”
Separately, former Trump administration aide Cassidy Hutchinson claimed in a memoir Gaetz groped her on two occasions and tried to make a pass at her at Camp David.
Gaetz has also denied those allegations but claimed the pair had once dated, which Hutchinson denies.
Following a week of intense scrutiny, and new details from the previous investigations into his conduct, Gaetz announced he was withdrawing from consideration for attorny general.
What did Matt Gaetz do in Congress?
During his time as Florida congressman, Gaetz was one of the most bombastic voices in Congress, tearing into Biden administration officials and fellow Republicans with equal ferocity.
In 2019, Gaetz helped lead a group of Republicans in the highly unusual move of storming a closed-door hearing during one of Trump’s impeachments.
During committee hearings, Gaetz often slammed witnesses, including an April 2022 hearing in which he berated Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin over allegations the military has gone too “woke.”
He’s also turned his fire on his own party and was one of the key voices that secured the eventual 2023 ouster of Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
In the House, Gaetz was a frequent critic of the probes into the Trump campaign’s ties with Russia, which the Florida rep refers to as the “Russia Hoax.”
What would Matt Gaetz have done as attorney general?
Despite Trump’s claims that Gaetz would have ushered in a new apolitical era at the DOJ, the MAGA loyalist has frequently criticized prosecutors investigating Trump and suggested they face further scrutiny.
He’s called for Fani Wallis, a Georgia official prosecuting Donald Trump for his attempts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results, to resign and be investigated, after the revelation she had a relationship with a member of her legal team.
In Congress, Gaetz launched a bill to defund the investigation of Jack Smith, the special counsel prosecution of Donald Trump on charges he conspired to overthrow the election results. Trump has said he’ll fire Smith within “two seconds” of taking office.
Gaetz also suggesteded he could have gone after Joe Biden’s son Hunter, who is currently awaiting sentencing on federal gun and tax charges.
“We could send criminal referrals to the Department of Justice, we go take the White House back, and you never know...it may be an Attorney General Matt Gaetz down the road or someone of my liking who will be there to actually enforce the law and provide the accountability,” Gaetz said in a 2023 interview.
What did Matt Gaetz say about January 6 and the 2020 election results?
Gaetz has supported multiple baseless claims about the 2020 election and the January 6 Capitol riot.
The Florida Republican was among those who voted to challenge the certification of the election results, and has said he remains “proud” of the “legitimate arguments about election integrity” he and his colleagues made in early 2021, as Trump attempted to remain in power in spite of losing the presidential race.
Gaetz maintained even two years later that Trump won the 2020 election, despite such claims repeatedly being shot down in court.
Gaetz has also leaned into unfounded conspiracy theories about January 6 itself, including claims that there was no insurrection and that federal agents provoked the chaos that occurred at the Capitol.
The MAGA ally reportedly sought pre-emptive pardons from Donald Trump both for his post-2020 election actions and regarding the Florida sex trafficking case.