There's another word that more accurately describes "sex" with minors, but "had sex" it is in the bipartisan ethics report into now-former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, to be released today after a month of GOP efforts to suppress it. According to CBS News, which has a leaked copy, the report concludes that Gaetz had "sex" with someone under the age of consent, used drugs illegally, and accepted luxury gifts.
The report gives fresh voice to allegations of misconduct that have circulated around Gaetz for years, in spite of his firm denials. It draws on testimony from witnesses who told the committee they were paid to have sex with Gaetz, text messages discussing the transactions, and Venmo and PayPal receipts. Among the report's most lurid findings were the allegations of sex- and drug-fueled parties and travel, including a 2018 trip to the Bahamas where witnesses say he took ecstasy and had sex with four women. "From 2017 to 2020, Representative Gaetz made tens of thousands of dollars in payments to women that the Committee determined were likely in connection with sexual activity and/or drug use," noted the report, which lists payments totaling more than $90,000 to 12 different women. The committee said it also received testimony that at a 2017 party, Gaetz twice had sex with "Victim A," who was 17 years old at the time and had just completed her junior year in high school. "Victim A recalled receiving $400 in cash from Representative Gaetz that evening, which she understood to be payment for sex," the committee wrote. "Victim A said that she did not inform Representative Gaetz that she was under 18 at the time, nor did he ask her age."
Gaetz resigned from Congress last month when Trump nominated him for attorney general of the United States. This was such an unlikely prospect—and he soon dropped out of consideration—that it was widely thought to have been a favor crafted to prevent the then-imminent release of the ethics report. He will not be held accountable by the law; that boat already sailed.