Raw Story: Merrick Garland's DOJ criticized for impeding Ethics Committee's Matt Gaetz investigation

[Dennis Donovan]

Raw Story - Merrick Garland's DOJ criticized for impeding Ethics Committee's Matt Gaetz investigation

Sarah K. Burris
December 23, 2024 1:16PM ET

The House Ethics Committee revealed its report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Monday — with its authors complaining that Merrick Garland's Department of Justice stopped it from carrying out a more through investigation.

In its report, which alleged that Gaetz paid an underage girl for sex, among other claims, the Ethics Committee asserts: "The Committee was not able to speak with every woman who received payments from Representative Gaetz that were suspected of being part of illicit activity. Several women initially were responsive to the Committee’s outreach but later told the Committee they would not voluntarily participate. Other women were clear at first contact that they feared retaliation or were unwilling to voluntarily relive their interactions with Representative Gaetz."

"Due to the women’s reluctance to cooperate, as well as the delay caused by DOJ’s deferral request and subsequent refusal to provide meaningful cooperation, the Committee was unable to determine the full extent to which Representative Gaetz’s payments to women were compensation for engaging in sexual activity with him," the committee report continued.

The committee said that the information they did have access to "provides substantial reason to believe that many of the payments in the chart [below] were made in connection with sexual activity and/or illicit drug use."

The chart calculates funds paid to 12 women who spoke to the committee.

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