Ethics Comm Hse

6 24 belated moderation?

[## GOP Lawmaker's Staffer Reportedly Hired Girlfriend For Fake Internship And Paid Her Thousands

HuffPost

21 hours ago

The romantic partner of Mike Collins' chief of staff "did no work" during her supposed internship, according to a report.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/gop-lawmakers-staffer-reportedly-hired-215511654.html)

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an 11 24

Ethics Chair Michael Guest has dismissed House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) request for the House Ethics Committee to keep its report Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) private, Politico reports.

:{:{Per the report, the speaker "told reporters Friday he planned to reach out to Guest, and publicly urged the Ethics Committee to not release its report," arguing "that the Ethics Committee should follow typical precedent, which is not releasing reports about members who are no longer in the House."....}:

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U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) sex trafficking investigation of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) ended without any type of indictment of the far-right MAGA congressman, who has vehemently denied doing anything illegal.

However, the House Ethics Committee has recently been probing allegations against Gaetz and has, according to ABC News' Will Steakin, interviewed "numerous women who were witnesses" in the DOJ probe.

"In the interviews, which have previously not been reported, some witnesses have been shown Venmo payments they allegedly received from Gaetz and asked if those payments were for sexual activities, sources said," Steakin reports in an article published on June 19. "Some of the witnesses have been subpoenaed by the Committee while others have agreed to cooperate, according to the sources."

Steakin adds, "One woman, who ABC News is not identifying, told the (House Ethics) Committee that a payment from Gaetz was for sex, while others have said they were paid to attend parties that Gaetz also attended and that featured drugs and sex, multiple sources told ABC News."

Steakin notes that Florida-based Joel Leppard confirmed that Gaetz has been cooperating with the Ethics Committee but declined to comment beyond that.

"On Tuesday, (June 18)," according to Steakin, "the House Ethics Committee provided an update on its investigation into Gaetz, detailing in a new statement on Tuesday that after speaking with over a dozen witnesses, issuing 25 subpoenas, and reviewing thousands of documents, the bipartisan panel will continue to review allegations, including that the Florida congressman 'engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use' and that he 'sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.'"

The ABC News journalist adds, "The (Ethics) Committee also detailed that it will no longer pursue allegations that Gaetz 'may have shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe or improper gratuity.'"

*Read ABC News' full report at this link.