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The House Ethics Committee\u2019s investigation into Matt Gaetz<\/strong> found \u201csubstantial evidence<\/a>\u201d that the former Florida representative had engaged in illicit drug use and sexual misconduct while in office. The evidence includes an allegation that he paid a 17-year-old for sex in 2017, according to a draft of the report obtained by CBS News and other outlets<\/a> Monday ahead of its expected release.<\/p>\n The outlets reported that Gaetz\u2014who filed a last-minute lawsuit<\/a> Monday trying to block the Ethics results from being released\u2014is accused in the report of having \u201cviolated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress.\u201d The 37-page report\u2014which is said to include Venmo and PayPal receipts\u2014also alleges that Gaetz paid more than $90,000 to 12 different women, \u201clikely in connection with sexual activity and\/or drug use\u201d between 2017 and 2020.<\/p>\n One of the women who testified to having sex with Gaetz at a 2017 party was 17 at the time and had just finished her junior year in high school\u2014though she reportedly did not inform him of her age, \u201cnor did she ask,\u201d according to the report. While the report notes that all women who testified said their encounters had been consensual, one woman told the committee that \u201cwhen I look back on certain moments, I feel violated.\u201d<\/p>\n Gaetz, who has denied allegations of wrongdoing, resigned from Congress last month<\/a> after he was named Donald Trump<\/strong>\u2019s nominee for attorney general\u2014two days before the Ethics committee was to hold a vote on releasing the results of its long-running investigation into his conduct. But he withdrew<\/a> from consideration soon after, writing that the sexual misconduct allegations surrounding him\u2014and that likely doomed his confirmation\u2014had become a \u201cdistraction.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle,\u201d Gaetz said in a statement at the time.<\/p>\n Until now, Gaetz seemed, briefly, to be in the clear: The committee voted against releasing its results in late November, and the Republican was hired<\/a> to host a program on the pro-Trump One America News Network. But then, last week, it was reported<\/a> that the Ethics panel had \u201csecretly voted\u201d in December to make the report public. In response, Gaetz said<\/a> at the time that he \u201cprobably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. However, he once again denied the statutory rape allegation, pointing to a Justice Department recommendation not to bring charges against him in its own sex trafficking inquiry. \u201cI live a different life now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n