Matt Gaetz Decries ‘Soviet’ House Ethics Probe for Sexual Misconduct and Drug Use

Rep. Matt Gaetz isn’t happy that the House Ethics Committee is investigating allegations that he engaged in sexual misconduct with a minor and used illegal drugs—going as far as to describe the probe as “Soviet.”

Gaetz, a Florida congressman and close Donald Trump ally, took to X on Thursday to make the far-fetched historical comparison after learning that the committee intended to subpoena him. He shared an indignant letter addressed to the committee’s leaders, Rep. Michael Guest and Rep. Susan Wild.

“Your investigation into me has devolved into a political payback exercise, devoid of adequate due process, riddled with leaks, and now seeking deeply personal information that is no business of Congress,” Gaetz wrote.

“I am being investigated and judged by my political opponents,” he added. “This is Soviet.”

Gaetz is alleged to have had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, and in the letter he denied this claim outright.

However, his denial of the illegal-drug-use claim was somewhat more nuanced.

“I have not used drugs which are illegal, absent some law allowing use in a jurisdiction of the United States,” he wrote. “I have not used ‘illicit’ drugs, which I consider to be drugs unlawful for medical or over-the-counter use everywhere in the United States.”

He also said the panel’s questions were “uncomfortably nosey” because they asked about “the lawful, consensual, sexual activities of adults,” which “are not the business of Congress.”

As a result of the perceived injustices, Gaetz declared in the letter that he will “no longer voluntarily participate” in the House’s probe.

The probe began after Gaetz’s friend Joel Greenberg went to prison for sex trafficking, and several of the women who testified in the case said Greenberg had paid minors to attend sex parties at which Gaetz was present.

Gaetz has previously denied allegations of engaging in sex trafficking or having sex with a minor. A DOJ probe ended in 2023 without charges being brought against the congressman.