Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

“But what about the lurkers?”

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you don’t.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

Israel is using food as a weapon of war. Unforgivable.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Fight them, without becoming them!

“Loving your country does not mean lying about it’s history.”

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

An unpunished coup is a training exercise.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

People are complicated. Love is not.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / I Wrestle With Your Conscience; You Wrestle With Your Partner

I Wrestle With Your Conscience; You Wrestle With Your Partner

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This post is in: 

Here’s a link to the Gaetz report and all of the appendices.

I skimmed the whole thing.  Blegh.  The summary at the start of the report has the lowlights:

In sum, the Committee found substantial evidence of the following:

• From at least 2017 to 2020, Representative Gaetz regularly paid women for engaging in sexual activity with him.

• In 2017, Representative Gaetz engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl.

• During the period 2017 to 2019, Representative Gaetz used orpossessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, on multiple occasions.

• Representative Gaetz accepted gifts, including transportation and lodging in connection with a 2018 trip to the Bahamas, in excess of permissible amounts.

• In 2018, Representative Gaetz arranged for his Chief of Staff to assist a woman with whom he engaged in sexual activity in obtaining a passport, falsely indicating to the U.S. Department of State that she was a constituent.

• Representative Gaetz knowingly and willfully sought to impede and obstruct the Committee’s investigation of his conduct.

• Representative Gaetz has acted in a manner that reflects discreditably upon the House.

Based on the above, the Committee concluded there was substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, acceptance of impermissible gifts, the provision of special favors and privileges, and obstruction of Congress.

The women Gaetz paid for sex were often found via a “sugar dating” website and did not appear to be prostitutes in the traditional sense.  I might have missed it, but it looked like they were all in the age range of 18-25,  with one exception:  he had two sexual encounters with a then 17 year-old girl at a party, and did not bother to check her age.  His slimeball buddy Joel Greenberg helped coordinate finding and paying the women.

Gaetz paid a little under $100K in total to all the women.  His girlfriend at the time was paid over $60K, and the committee clearly suspected that she funneled payments to the other women.  His girlfriend was also present at many of the sexual encounters with the other women.  They also helped obtain cannabis cartridges and party drugs, and he reimbursed them.  Almost all the women reported that they were so drunk/high that they couldn’t recall all of the sexual activity with Gaetz.

The committee report says the Department of Justice was uncooperative in their investigation.  Many of the women took the fifth since they didn’t want to self-incriminate on the payments for sex.

There are appendices to the report with screenshots of some of the women going back and forth about trying to get more payment from Greenberg.

This is the slimy fucker that Trump wanted to run the Department of Justice, and the real reason he didn’t get the job probably isn’t his conduct, but rather that he pissed off some Republican Senators, because in addition to being pretty disgusting, he’s also an asshole to his colleagues.

Reader Interactions

115Comments

  1. 1.

    JML

    I’m glad the report is finally out in some form. What a slimy evil bastard Gaetz was. Sadly, I don’t think he’s the only example of this in the GOP, just the most arrogant and blatant.

  3. 3.

    different-church-lady

    This is the slimy fucker that Trump wanted to run the Department of Justice

    You don’t want a criminal Attorney General, you want a criminal Attorney General.

  4. 4.

    Old School

    During the period 2017 to 2019, Representative Gaetz used or possessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, on multiple occasions.

    I hope he didn’t lie on a gun permit form during that time.  Republicans are real sticklers on that point.

  5. 5.

    Suzanne

    in addition to being pretty disgusting, he’s also an asshole to his colleagues

    It’s incredibly revealing that it’s the “asshole to colleagues” part that ended up mattering, not the fact that he’s a reprehensible sex criminal.

  7. 7.

    CliosFanBoy

    “In an unusual move by Congress, the full report will be available on PornHub rather than an offical US Government site.”

  8. 8.

    trollhattan

    This revenge tour is getting off to quite the start. Panama Canal, Greenland redux, Mt. McKinley?

    President-elect Donald Trump announced he will bring back Mount McKinley after the mountain was changed in favor of the native population.

    Said Trump: “We’re going to bring back the name of Mount McKinley. He deserves it.”

    Whatever, you weird fuck.

  10. 10.

    KatKapCC

    At least they referred to the 17-year-old as a girl and not an “underage woman” like someone on TV did. AHEM.

  12. 12.

    TBone

    Comment lifted from elsewhere

    My recollection is that the 17-year old had a real driver’s license showing her age to be 19. Gaetz’s sleazy friend Greenberg held a position for some FL county that allowed him to issue licenses (I think some tax assessors’ offices also issue licenses) and he gave her a real license with a phony birth date. Prosecuting him for that would have been difficult.

    I don’t know why he wasn’t tried for the others. We don’t seem to prosecute too many bigwigs any more.

    That is also my dim recollection.

  15. 15.

    TBone

    Also stolen from elsewhere, a comment that I perceive as spot on

    There’s nothing new about Matty, though, he neatly fits that most loathsome of American archetypes, the Planter’s son, who basically has cultural impunity for all sexual misconduct.

  19. 19.

    oldster

    The only allegation that is open to dispute is this one:

    “”Representative Gaetz has acted in a manner that reflects discreditably upon the House.

    If we’re talking about the Republican House, I’d say his actions are reflective of their credit.

  20. 20.

    Renie

    OT:   When Luigi appeared in court today, there were about two dozen women there to support him.  He was already getting lots of mail while in PA jail and it has already started at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where he is now (same place as Sean “Diddy” Combs). His trial is going to be a circus. Still don’t understand how they came up with terrorism charges.

  22. 22.

    Old School

    When Luigi appeared in court today, there were about two dozen women there to support him.

    I should have killed more CEOs in my younger days.

    Live and learn.

  26. 26.

    Doc Sardonic

    @TBone: Greenberg was the tax collector in Seminole County, Fl next county over from Orlando. In Florida the county tax collector is responsible for all licensing except Drivers licenses, BUT, they share offices with DMV and he had access to the equipment as well as turned in licenses

  28. 28.

    rikyrah

    • From at least 2017 to 2020, Representative Gaetz regularly paid women for engaging in sexual activity with him.

    He’s a rich, White congressman. And, he can’t find MAGA women who would sleep with him without being paid?

     

     

    • In 2017, Representative Gaetz engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl.

     

    Not a shock. In the least.

  33. 33.

    Citizen Alan

    @Suzanne: I firmly believe that most Republican men would commit sexual assault regularly if they were sure they could get away with it. Gaetz was just such a spoiled POS thanks to a pampered upbringing by shitty parents that he honestly thought there was no accountability at all (instead of virtually no accountability) for Republican politicians.

  36. 36.

    TBone

    @Suzanne: I have no doubt that some people get more polite but me, I get a solid urge to be a wiseass if I see open carry at the Walmart.  “Sorry about your penis” might be my final words.

  39. 39.

    John S.

    @Suzanne:

    Reminds me of one of the great lines from Shogun where Lady Mariko says:

    A man may go to war for many reasons. Conquest. Pride. Power. But a woman is simply at war.

  40. 40.

    @mistermix.bsky.social

    @Renie:

    OT:   When Luigi appeared in court today, there were about two dozen women there to support him.  He was already getting lots of mail while in PA jail and it has already started at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where he is now (same place as Sean “Diddy” Combs). His trial is going to be a circus. Still don’t understand how they came up with terrorism charges.

    Someone on BlueSky posted a headline from some newspaper saying he looked pale and diminished or something like that.  He looked good in the pictures I saw.

    The terrorism stuff is what gets the charge to 1st degree murder in NY, I don’t agree with it, either.

  41. 41.

    Suzanne

    @Citizen Alan:

    firmly believe that most Republican men would commit sexual assault regularly if they were sure they could get away with it. 

    I don’t disagree. In all honesty, I think there’s a minority of left-leaning men who would do the same. I think patriarchy is a thing many men have convinced themselves is their entitlement.

    I’ve been thinking about this w/r/t the case of Gisèle Pelicot. Over 50 men raped her. One missed the birth of his own child to rape her. How many men saw that ad and didn’t report it?!

  46. 46.

    Kosh III

    @JML: ” I don’t think he’s the only example of this in the GOP, just the most arrogant and blatant.”

    Ummm, can we say Ted Cruz?

  47. 47.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @TBone:

    …if third graders can get used to the constant threat of being shot, so can CEOs.

    One could plausibly make the argument that the average CEO in ‘Murka is better protected from being shot than your average 3rd grader.

  48. 48.

    Shalimar

    I mean, he likes the sex, and just look at him.   No one is gonna sex him without getting paid and being too high to remember later.  Is that even a crime? /s

  50. 50.

    karen marie

    @trollhattan: So much for reducing costs and waste. All the signage would have to be replaced, all the pamphlets and brochures thrown out and replaced, every website changed. Fucking wastrels.

  52. 52.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    So much for reducing costs and waste.

    = Getting rid of programs we don’t like.

  53. 53.

    rikyrah

    @@mistermix.bsky.social:

    The terrorism stuff is what gets the charge to 1st degree murder in NY, I don’t agree with it, either.

     

    The terrorism charge is bullshyt.

     

    I always thought First Degree was about INTENT.

    If you stay stalking a muthaphucka so that you can kill them….

    How is that NOT intent?

     

    He wasn’t strolling by and just ‘ happened’ to come across that CEO. He laid in wait for him. …so that he could take his shots at him.

  56. 56.

    rikyrah

    @Suzanne:

    I’ve been thinking about this w/r/t the case of Gisèle Pelicot. Over 50 men raped her. One missed the birth of his own child to rape her. How many men saw that ad and didn’t report it?!

     

    I pray that she can find some semblance of peace. That entire story is so revolting.

  57. 57.

    waspuppet

    If you’re grossed out by this, don’t worry—I’m sure our wealthy media class will not be reporting on this for very long, if ever. After all, it’s a well-known rule that if someone is not an elected official, there’s no point dwelling on their misdeeds. Unless they’re Hunter Biden of course.

    Now, the question of whether there should be an investigation into how this became public—THAT is something they can comfortably say whatever Republicans want them to will pursue doggedly.

  59. 59.

    NotoriousJRT

    @Suzanne: It’s incredibly revealing that it’s the “asshole to colleagues” part that ended up mattering, not the fact that he’s a reprehensible sex criminal.

    Revealing, but not surprising.

  64. 64.

    Nukular Biskits

    To each his/her own, I suppose, but I don’t see how any woman/girl would have had sex with Gaetz were it not for the money, drugs, Bahama trips.

    ETA:  Isn’t he married now?

  65. 65.

    NotoriousJRT

    @trollhattan: I’ve had a feeling this McKinley backlash fetish would, at some point, show up on the menu. It’s a perfect example of the culture war “affronts” that are so unbearable to our Trumpy Grumpy neighbors.

  66. 66.

    Renie

    @rikyrah: ​
      New York Penal Law § 490.25, the crime of terrorism, is one of the most serious criminal offenses in New York State. The statute defines the crime of terrorism as any act that is committed with the intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population or influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion and that results in one or more of the following: (a) the commission of a specified offense, (b) the causing of a specified injury or death, (c) the causing of mass destruction or widespread contamination, or (d) the disruption of essential infrastructure.

    Seems a stretch to charge him with this. Many people stalk other people and murder them. Why is this any different?

  67. 67.

    Geminid

    Gaetz reportedly intended to run for Florida Governor in 2026. This Ethics Committee report could make that run very difficult, and that may be one of the reasons the report was released. Gaetz made a lot of Republican enemies in Congress, and I bet he has plenty in Florida too.

  73. 73.

    rikyrah

    Donald Trump is a white DEI hire (@Needle_of_Arya) posted at 6:05 AM on Mon, Dec 23, 2024:
    we now come to understand that “2024” was probably lost 2 years ago when Senators Manchin & Sinema killed “Build Back Better” & the child tax credit, and if you look at it that way you don’t feel so bad about how 2024 played out

    Dem voters want to know we’re fighting for them
    (https://x.com/Needle_of_Arya/status/1871165192811520369?t=p4oxMJp5FrkmIXC2rEedsw&s=03)

  80. 80.

    BritinChicago

    That’s a lot of state offenses that he stands accused of. I hope that the new nominee for US Atty General will be pressed, at her confirmation hearings, on why he was not prosecuted for them, whether an investigation which might lead to prosecution has been started, and so on. And then I hope she’s voted down.

  83. 83.

    rikyrah

    Bill Madden (@maddenifico) posted at 6:02 PM on Sun, Dec 22, 2024:
    This might be why Trump is so butthurt over the Panama Canal. He used to license his name to the Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower in Panama where oligarchs bought condos they never lived in but were used to launder Russian gangster money, drug cartel money and people-smuggling money. Like all things associated with the corrupt conman, it was a failure and in 2018 the property was taken over by a new owner who subsequently had the Trump crime family ousted as manager and the Trump name — which was about as popular a symbol as the Nazi swastika — was removed from the building.

    (https://x.com/maddenifico/status/1870983181035556939?t=0-6qGCcEEHuW6Mljke2bPw&s=03)

  84. 84.

    Kay

    For me, when Fetterman says he’s considering voting for Hegseth, that’s a deal breaker. A Democrat who shrugs at extremely credible rape accusations is a misogynist. We have more than enough of them in media and on the Right. It should be disqualifying on our side. I won’t lower my standards because the country has lost its fucking mind and decided any random raping women-hating asshole can fill high positions.

    He’s worse than Leiberman. I don’t think Joe Leiberman had such contempt for women. This is a new low for us.

  85. 85.

    rikyrah

    Fully vaccinated (@Godlesswh_re) posted at 10:28 AM on Sun, Dec 22, 2024:
    I work with white republican women who are married to white conservative men. Almost anything that comes out of their mouths is bitching about everything and everyone. I don’t think I’ve met anyone more miserable than they are.
    (https://x.com/Godlesswh_re/status/1870868914978312633?t=i0xEP2fxbm1tBqbl–KiSg&s=03)

     

    Donald Trump is a white DEI hire (@Needle_of_Arya) posted at 11:32 AM on Sun, Dec 22, 2024:
    I ran across one at the retail job yesterday, and yes, they are all truly miserable and they do suck

    all they ever do is make all the non-conservatives around them also miserable as well; I hate their energy

    I feel sorry for only the children raised by such people
    (https://x.com/Needle_of_Arya/status/1870885183312015445?t=F5ev-z9pVDNTTG0kKkYyzA&s=03)

  86. 86.

    Kay

    So glad media spent four years creating a panic around trans people instead of investigating the rape epidemic in the highest levels of the US government. Excellent work.

    This country fucking hates women.

  87. 87.

    Kay

    @rikyrah:

    I’m just sick about the anti woke ninnies killing African American representation. I think I already see it in ads. Black people are disappearing. Toyota has a new ad about “American made” where every single actor is a white male. Jumped right out at me.

  89. 89.

    Kay

    The WSJ has “Gaetz regularly paid women for sex”.

    They’re just going to ignore trafficking the high school junior, because who cares? She’s just a girl.

    LOW standards. Rock bottom.

  90. 90.

    Kay

    Media “the 17 year old temptress prostitute despoiled Matt Gaetz!”

    We skipped the 1960s and lurched right back to the 1950s.

  91. 91.

    JoyceH

    @lollipopguild: I remember years ago it came out that some popular attractive and rich famous guy was revealed to patronize prostitutes. Someone asked him why he did that when so many quite attractive women would have sex with him for free. He said, “I don’t pay them for the sex, I pay for them to go away.”

  93. 93.

    MagdaInBlack

    @Kay: Fkn WSJ. He did not “pay them for sex.” He had sex with teenage girls and paid them to be quiet about it. Jeezuz H.

  94. 94.

    rikyrah

    @Kay:

    For me, when Fetterman says he’s considering voting for Hegseth, that’s a deal breaker. A Democrat who shrugs at extremely credible rape accusations is a misogynist.

     

    A drugging rapist…

    uh huh

    uh huh

  95. 95.

    rikyrah

    @Kay:

    They’re just going to ignore trafficking the high school junior, because who cares? She’s just a girl.

     

    yeah, skipped right over the MINOR CHILD.

    UH HUH

    UH HUH

    Peanut is a High School Junior.

    And the thought of some grown azz man approaching her…

    Brings out a rage in me I cannot describe.

  100. 100.

    gene108

    @Renie:

    Still don’t understand how they came up with terrorism charges.

    Luigi’s murder of the UHC CEO has scared billionaires and other CEO’s creating a climate of terror on boardrooms across the country.

  101. 101.

    Suzanne

    @Omnes Omnibus: He had some good opponents last time. Malcolm Kenyatta and Conor Lamb, to name two. I expect he will again. I would love my Congresswoman, Summer Lee, to have a long political career, too, whether she stays in the House and climbs the ladder, or gets a promotion.

    I keep being told that elections are the solution, ergo, I’m gonna look for someone better.

  102. 102.

    Kay

    @Suzanne:

    I’m so old I remember when shrugging off a credible rape allegation would cause…conflict in the Democratic Party all the way up to leadership.

    Eight years ago. In the much more enlightened 2016.

    He drugged her before he raped her.

  104. 104.

    Suzanne

    @Kay: I also remember when we wouldn’t vote to confirm some quack with a TV show that Melania likes to run Medicare, but Fetterman said he’s gonna do that, too.

    God. I understand the strategic value of nose-holding votes, but Fetterman is the second-most disappointing Dem I’ve ever voted for. Sinema is still #1 by a country mile.

  108. 108.

    Geminid

    @Suzanne: I wonder if John Fetterman will run again in 2028. I expect he will if he’s healthy, but I’m not sure if he will be. Fetterman was pretty messed up in 2022 Flafter his stroke, and he doesn’t look that hot hlcoming out of 2024 either.

    Oh well, that’s a future problem for Keystone State Democrats. I’m just hoping Virginia Senator Mark Warner retires in 2026. That would open a pathway to the Senate for the excellent Rep. Jennifer McClellan of Richmond. McClellan would be Virginia’s first woman Senator ever.

  109. 109.

    rikyrah

    You know, you read stories and you say to yourself..

    “Oh, this is going to be a Lifetime Movie or a Netflix limited series”

    And, then, there are stories so horrific that I know wouldn’t be able to watch.

     

    The Gisèle Pelicot story is one of them.

    The utter horrors that woman has gone through…

    Even a documentary would be exploitative of her.

  110. 110.

    Kay

    @Suzanne:

    I think he’ll run for President in 2028. Lol

    We probably don’t have to worry about him sticking around – that ego is way too big for a legislature.

    We could back Shapiro! Fetterman hates him.

  111. 111.

    Suzanne

    @Kay: @Geminid: One of the things that’s nice here in PA is that there’s a lot of good Dems at multiple levels of government. Arizona hasn’t historically been as good at finding them and growing their careers.

    I am sure that Fetterman will have a worthy challenger.

  113. 113.

    Lily

    Did they even question Gaetz’s pals under oath to investigate whether they ‘reimbursed’ him for supplying drugs and sex?  He’d be one of thousands of wealthy white drug dealers and pimps who aren’t pursued by LE.

  114. 114.

    Lumpy

    Just to be clear, the law says it doesn’t matter if the girl had a fake ID, it’s against the law in FL for an adult to have sex with a 17 year old. It’s illegal even if you legitimately don’t know the girl’s real age.

    I was struck by one detail in the report, that Gaetz and his pal told the girls “We’re low on cash at the moment, can we make this week “Customer Appreciation week?” (they asked for a freebie). Also, these are not girls that Gaetz “dated” if they refer to themselves as “customers”

  115. 115.

    Ella in New Mexico

    @rikyrah:

    He’s a rich, White congressman. And, he can’t find MAGA women who would sleep with him without being paid?

    That would require him to have basic human relationship skills, so yeah

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