Matt Gaetz Files Last-Minute Lawsuit to Stop Ethics Report Release

Former Representative Matt Gaetz is filing a restraining order against the entire House Ethics Committee to stop them from showing the world their findings, which reportedly includes evidence that he paid an underage girl for sex.

Gaetz accuses the committee of an “unconstitutional” attempt “to exercise jurisdiction over a private citizen through the threatened release of an investigative report containing potentially defamatory allegations, in violation of the Committee’s own rules.”

This is the result of a yearslong investigation into allegations that Gaetz had paid a teenage girl and multiple women thousands of dollars for sex and drugs since 2017.

This is a developing story.

Former Representative Matt Gaetz is filing a restraining order against the entire House Ethics Committee to stop them from showing the world their findings, which reportedly includes evidence that he paid an underaged girl for sex.

Gaetz accuses the committee of an “unconstitutional” attempt “to exercise jurisdiction over a private citizen through the threatened release of an investigative report containing potentially defamatory allegations, in violation of the Committee’s own rules.”

This all comes after CNN reported last week that the committee secretly voted to release its report into former Representative Matt Gaetz. The report is years long, and based on allegations that Gaetz had paid a teenage girl and multiple women thousands of dollars for sex and drugs since 2017.

Gaetz’s restraining order request states that the report would be unjustly tarnishing his reputation, arguing that it is “concerning matters of sexual propriety and other acts of alleged moral turpitude constitutes irreparable harm that cannot be adequately remedied through monetary damages.”

The clerk’s office has already told Gaetz his lawsuit must be refiled, as Gaetz’s attorneys made paperwork errors that must be corrected before it goes any further.

Gaetz has fervently denied any and all allegations.

“In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated—even some I never dated but who asked. I dated several of these women for years. I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18. Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court—which is why no such claim was ever made in court,” Gaetz wrote last week. “It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now.”

This story has been updated.

Donald Trump dismissed the “President Musk” jokes Sunday, and it was less than convincing.

During his address at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference in Phoenix, Arizona, the president-elect pushed back on claims that Musk planned to supplant him as president.

“No, he’s not gonna be president, that I can tell you,” Trump said. “And I’m safe, you know why? He can’t be, he wasn’t born in this country.”

But Trump carefully elided the actual criticism of Musk’s growing political influence. People aren’t worried that Musk is plotting to steal the presidency—they’re worried he already has.

Last week, Musk issued his own set of marching orders to Congress, ordering Republicans to oppose a massive spending bill to avert a government shutdown, or face being primaried by a Musk-backed candidate. Meanwhile, Trump stayed more or less silent, and Democratic leaders began to criticize the president-elect for allowing Musk to lead his party.

When Trump eventually did weigh in, also issuing a request to lift the debt ceiling, his spokesperson Karoline Leavitt issued a chilly statement to make sure everyone knew there was only one man in charge.

“As soon as President Trump released his official stance on the CR, Republicans on Capitol Hill echoed his point of view. President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop,” said Leavitt.

Only when both Musk and Trump approved of the spending bill was it able to move forward. While the changes Musk sought were made, Trump’s request got left on the cutting room floor.

Musk’s recent behavior indicates not only a growing influence on Trump, but on the Republican Party at large, as Republicans immediately fell in line. Already, many have begun pledging themselves to assist the unelected bureaucrat with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, a scheme to eradicate federal programs and workers and replace them with pricey corporate contracts and vendors.

The House of Representatives finally voted to avert a government shutdown Friday evening, just hours before government funding was set to expire, thanks to Democratic help and Republicans’ decision to exclude Donald Trump’s demand to extend the debt ceiling.

The bill to continue funding for the government passed with 366 votes in favor and 34 votes against, with every single “no” vote coming from a Republican.

This most recent vote comes one day after a whopping 38 Republicans joined 197 Democrats in voting against an abbreviated continuing resolution, endorsed by both Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

That bill had nixed several key provisions from the original, including ones to fund research into pediatric cancer, premature labor, and Down syndrome; to treat sickle-cell anemia and early cancer detection; and criminalize deepfake pornography.

The original 1,547-page bipartisan bill was scrapped Wednesday, after Musk railed against it on social media and Trump demanded that Republicans find a way to lift the debt ceiling, sending an embattled House Speaker Mike Johnson scrambling to come up with a new version of the legislation.

The massive bill underwent several stages on Friday, having been split up into three component parts for lawmakers to vote on separately: a three-month continuing resolution, a bill funding disaster relief, and a bill to grant $10 billion in relief for farmers and extend the farmer’s bill, while Trump’s request to raise the debt ceiling was nowhere to be found.

In the end, lawmakers voted on one single package, which would fund the government through March 14, provide roughly $100 billion for disaster aid, and extend the federal programs supporting farmers, providing $30 billion in economic relief.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has a simple fix for the current government shutdown battle.

“How about the House add campaign finance reform to the CR so Republicans and Democrats alike can stop being so scared about what a billionaire man-child thinks before they vote on anything around here,” AOC wrote on X Friday.

The “billionaire man-child” in question is Elon Musk, who has been threatening to primary any representatives who don’t back his preferred version of the spending bill. Musk helped tank the bipartisan spending bill on Wednesday through a barrage of posts on X, and on Thursday, a Trump-backed bill failed to win over enough Republicans. On Friday afternoon, Musk again began hinting at his opposition to the revised Republican plan.

Musk’s outside role in these negotiations has called into question who’s really calling the shots in the Republican Party.

“The leader of the GOP is Elon Musk,” Representative Brendan Boyle wrote on X. “I don’t know why Trump doesn’t just hand him the Oval Office,” said Representative Greg Cesar.