【中美创新时报2024 年 12 月 23 日编译讯】（记者温友平编译）众议院道德委员会发布了一份爆炸性报告，指控前佛罗里达州众议员马特·盖茨在担任议员期间多次与他人发生性关系，包括与一名 17 岁少女发生性关系，并吸食非法毒品。《波士顿环球报》记者Travis Andersen 对此作了下述详细报道。
盖茨是一名共和党人，曾被当选总统唐纳德·特朗普短暂任命为该国下一任司法部长，他否认有任何不当行为。
以下是该报告中一些关键要点的概述。
不当行为指控
报告称，委员会发现盖茨至少在 2017 年至 2020 年期间“定期收受”性报酬，并在其中几年“多次”使用非法药物。
“2017 年，盖茨众议员与一名 17 岁女孩发生性行为，”文件称。“2017 年至 2019 年期间，盖茨众议员多次使用或持有非法药物，包括可卡因和摇头丸。”
报告称，这位前议员还“接受了超过允许金额的礼物，包括 2018 年巴哈马之行的交通和住宿”。
文件称，2018 年，盖茨让他的幕僚长“协助与他发生性行为的一名女性获得护照，并向美国国务院谎称她是选民。”
报告称，这位保守派议员还“故意试图阻挠和妨碍委员会对其行为的调查”。
没有证据支持性交易指控
报告称，委员会没有发现盖茨违反联邦性交易法的证据，司法部曾就此对他进行单独调查，但没有提出指控。
报告称：“尽管盖茨议员确实导致女性跨州被运送进行商业性交易，但委员会没有发现任何证据表明这些女性在旅行时未满 18 岁，也没有发现足够的证据证明这些商业性行为是被武力、欺诈或胁迫诱导的。”
乔尔·格林伯格的证词和可信度问题
报告称，佛罗里达州塞米诺尔县前税务员乔尔·格林伯格曾是盖茨的同伙，目前因与委员会审查有关的罪行在联邦监狱服刑。他告诉小组，他在网上招募女性，两人将“分摊‘毒品、酒店和女孩’的费用”。
“委员会收到的证据证实，盖茨代表有时会亲自向与他和格林伯格先生一起参加派对的女性付款，使用各种点对点电子支付服务，以及支票和现金，”报告说。“委员会的记录还表明，格林伯格先生有时会向与盖茨代表发生性关系的女性付钱，有时盖茨代表会报销这些钱。”
文件称，在一个例子中，盖茨“给格林伯格先生寄了 400 美元，并附上纸条‘打 [受害者 A]’；随后，格林伯格先生向两名女性支付了总计 400 美元的款项，其中包括受害者 A。”报告称，盖茨还写信给格林伯格，说受害者 A“找我麻烦”。
该文件还指出，委员会成员认为格林伯格的可信度存在问题。
“委员会承认，格林伯格先生的可信度值得怀疑，”报告称。“委员会收到了格林伯格先生提供的未包含在本报告中的额外证据，其中大部分是淫秽的但无法证实，尽管与委员会从其他证人那里了解到的行为性质一致。”
“数千美元”的性贿赂指控
报告发现，盖茨涉嫌在非法性行为上的支出并非微不足道。
报告称：“从 2017 年到 2020 年，盖茨众议员向女性支付了数万美元，委员会认定这些款项可能与性行为和/或吸毒有关。”“这些款项是通过 PayPal、Venmo 和 CashApp 等点对点支付平台支付给这些女性的；虽然盖茨众议员在每个平台上都有以他的名字开设的账户，但他有时也会通过他人的 PayPal 账户或通过化名电子邮件账户向女性付款。”
盖茨涉嫌为性行为付费的女性中，有一位在报告中被确认为女性 1 的人，委员会称她在三年内从这位国会议员那里获得了超过 63,000 美元，并一度成为他的女朋友。
“委员会的记录表明，盖茨众议员与女性 1 保持着长期关系，因此其中一些付款可能是合法的；然而，正如下文进一步讨论的那样，当被问及盖茨众议员向她支付的款项是否用于性行为和/或毒品，还是让她将款项转交给他人用于此类目的时，女性 1 主张了她的第五修正案权利，”报告称，并补充说，委员会“有充分理由相信这些款项大部分用于此类活动。”
报告详述了妥协短信
据报告称，盖茨自己的一些短信据称牵连到他违法行为。
“在委员会查看的一次短信交流中，盖茨众议员拒绝了一位女性要求他给她汇款的请求，因为他指责她在疲惫的晚上‘抛弃’了他，声称她只是‘路过’他，”文件说。 “这名女子向盖茨众议员声称，她受到的‘待遇’与他为性行为付费的其他女性不同。”
据称还有更多类似的短信。
“委员会还收到了短信，在短信中，盖茨众议员当时的女友告诉一些通常会被付钱进行性交易的女性，‘这些男人（盖茨众议员和格林伯格先生）想让我告诉他们，他们这个周末的现金流有点紧张……马特说，如果这周能更像一个顾客答谢周就好了……’”报告说。“几个月后，她注意到，‘顺便说一句，马特还提到，由于上次‘顾客答谢’的事情，他会慷慨一点。’”
据称，盖茨被观察到吸毒
据报道，多名证人在委员会作证时将盖茨与吸毒联系起来。
一名女性“说，她至少带可卡因参加了一次与盖茨众议员的活动，她至少五次目睹他吸食可卡因或摇头丸，”报告说。“先生，格林伯格告诉委员会，他通常会为参加的活动提供摇头丸等药物，而盖茨众议员会用现金偿还。其他几名女性观察到盖茨众议员受到毒品的影响。”
报告还称，几乎每位接受采访的证人都报告看到盖茨吸食大麻，并且“他似乎在国会大厦的众议院办公室设立了一个匿名电子邮件账户，用于购买大麻。”
收到付款的女性证词
报告称，盖茨涉嫌为性贿赂而支付的人之一是一名 21 岁的女性，她需要学费帮助。
“当她来领取支票时，她发现格林伯格先生和 [另一名] 20 岁的女性在场，”报告称。 “这名 21 岁的女性告诉委员会，他们‘期待’发生‘性接触’。他们四人发生了性关系，之后盖茨代表给了她一张 750 美元的支票，支票抬头写着‘学费报销’，第二天她就把支票存入账户，以帮助支付学费。”
这名女子告诉调查人员，她当时感到很脆弱。
“这名 21 岁的女性告诉委员会，她认为这次接触‘可能是一种胁迫，因为我真的需要钱’，”报告称。
前往巴哈马、纽约的旅行
报告还提到了盖茨 2018 年 9 月与另外两名男子和六名女子一起前往巴哈马的旅行。报告称，委员会调查人员发现，大多数（如果不是全部）女性“都有过”与他发生性关系以换取金钱的经历。
“虽然没有向这些女性支付与巴哈马之行有关的具体款项，但据一名女性称，‘这次旅行本身就是一笔款项’，”文件称，并补充说盖茨在旅行期间与其中至少四人发生了性关系。
报告称，2019 年 1 月，盖茨安排两名女性与他和他当时的女友在纽约会合。
报告称：“委员会审查了盖茨代表在旅行前询问这些女性获取毒品情况的短信，并称‘谁能帮忙提供派对礼物？’” “除了支付她们的旅行费用外，委员会还收到证据表明，盖茨代表还向这些女性寄钱，以补偿她们在旅行期间与他发生的性行为。”
据文件显示，这些女性告诉委员会，盖茨试图说服她们进行各种性行为。
“这些女性还讨论了盖茨代表试图说服她们与他或格林伯格先生发生性关系的情况：‘他会让我因为没有与他或乔尔·格林伯格发生性关系而感到难过’，他会说‘你为什么不想和我发生性关系’或‘[格林伯格先生]在那边看起来很伤心……让他开心吧’，”报告称。 “……第三名女性说，‘当我回想起某些时刻时，我感到被侵犯了。’一名女性说，‘我一直在想这件事……当我打开电视时，我仍然会看到他，但没有人能做些什么。知道我生活在他否认的现实中，这令人沮丧。’”
据称与 17 岁女孩发生过关系
文件称，盖茨于 2017 年 7 月在佛罗里达州一名说客家中的派对上遇到了一名 17 岁女孩，报告中称其为受害者 A。
“记录压倒性地表明，盖茨众议员在派对上与多名女性发生了性关系，包括当时 17 岁的女孩，她们因此得到了报酬，”报告称，其中包括一个脚注，其中写道“格林伯格先生告诉委员会，在这次派对的第二天，盖茨众议员吹嘘说‘他在一天内与六个女孩发生了性关系，并说出了她们的名字’，包括受害者 A。”
报告称，受害者 A 回忆起从盖茨那里收到 400 美元，她认为这是性交易的报酬。
“当时，她刚刚读完高中三年级，”报告称。“受害者 A 说，她当时没有告诉盖茨议员她未满 18 岁，盖茨也没有问她的年龄。委员会没有收到任何证据表明盖茨议员在与受害者 A 发生性关系时知道受害者 A 是未成年人。”
官员说，受害者 A 承认在聚会期间受到了摇头丸的影响，还回忆起看到盖茨吸食可卡因。
“受害者 A 告诉委员会，她‘确定’当晚她与盖茨议员发生了性关系，”报告称，并补充说，议员“一般否认与未成年人发生过性行为，但拒绝回答有关他与受害者 A 互动的具体问题。”
盖茨回应
9 月，这位陷入困境的议员致信委员会，否认与任何未成年人发生过性关系。
报告称，盖茨“在 2024 年 9 月 26 日致委员会的信中声称：‘您在 9 月 4 日的信中询问我是否与任何 18 岁以下的人发生过性行为。这个问题的答案毫无疑问是否定的。你可以将这个回答应用于这个问题的每个版本，在每个论坛上，’”
报告称，委员会认为这一说法不可信，报告指出盖茨曾公开将向女性支付的费用描述为对前女友的慷慨。
报告称：“盖茨众议员利用年轻女性的经济脆弱性引诱她们发生性行为，她们每次发生性行为后平均能得到几百美元。” “这种行为不是‘对前女友的慷慨’，也不会给众议院带来好印象。”
本报告使用了美联社的材料。
题图：众议员马特·盖茨于 2024 年 7 月 17 日在密尔沃基举行的共和党全国代表大会上发表讲话。J. Scott Applewhite/美联社
附原英文报道：
Alleged payments for sex and compromising text messages: 10 takeaways from the Matt Gaetz ethics report
By Travis Andersen Globe Staff,Updated December 23, 2024, 3:30 p.m.
Representative Matt Gaetz speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 17, 2024.J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press
The House Ethics Committee on Monday released an explosive report accusing former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz of repeatedly paying for sex, including with a 17-year-old, and engaging in illicit drug use while he was a lawmaker.
Gaetz, a Republican who was briefly tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be the country’s next attorney general, has denied wrongdoing.
Here’s a rundown of some of the key takeaways from the report.
Allegations of misconduct
The committee found Gaetz “regularly paid” for sex between at least 2017 and 2020, and used illegal drugs on “multiple occasions” during several of those years, according to the report.
“In 2017, Representative Gaetz engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl,” the filing said. “During the period 2017 to 2019, Representative Gaetz used or possessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, on multiple occasions.”
The former lawmaker also “accepted gifts, including transportation and lodging in connection with a 2018 trip to the Bahamas, in excess of permissible amounts,” the report said.
In 2018, the document said, Gaetz had his chief of staff “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.”
The conservative lawmaker also “knowingly and willfully sought to impede and obstruct the Committee’s investigation of his conduct,” the report said.
No evidence to support sex trafficking allegations
The report said the committee did not find evidence that Gaetz violated the federal sex trafficking law, something the Justice Department had separately investigated him for without filing charges.
“Although Representative Gaetz did cause the transportation of women across state lines for purposes of commercial sex, the Committee did not find evidence that any of those women were under 18 at the time of travel, nor did the Committee find sufficient evidence to conclude that the commercial sex acts were induced by force, fraud, or coercion,” the report said.
Joel Greenberg testimony and questions of credibility
Former Seminole County, Fla., tax collector Joel Greenberg, a onetime associate of Gaetz who’s currently serving a federal prison term for crimes related to the committee review, told the panel that he recruited women online and that the two would “would split the costs of ‘drugs, hotel[s], and girls,’” the report said.
“The Committee received evidence confirming that Representative Gaetz at times personally made payments to women who attended parties with him and Mr. Greenberg, using various peer-to-peer electronic payment services, as well as checks and cash,” the report said. “The Committee’s record also indicates that Mr. Greenberg sometimes paid women for having sex with Representative Gaetz and was sometimes reimbursed by Representative Gaetz.”
In one instance, the document said, Gaetz “sent $400 to Mr. Greenberg with the note ‘Hit up [Victim A]’; Mr. Greenberg then sent two women payments totaling $400, including Victim A.” Gaetz had also written to Greenberg that Victim A was “on me,” according to the report.
The document also noted committee members felt there were issues with Greenberg’s credibility.
“The Committee has acknowledged that Mr. Greenberg’s credibility is in doubt,” the report said. “The Committee received additional evidence from Mr. Greenberg that is not included in this Report, much of it salacious but unverifiable, although consistent with the nature of the conduct that the Committee learned of from other witnesses.”
‘Thousands of dollars’ in alleged payments for sex
Gaetz’s alleged expenditures on illicit sexual activity weren’t insignificant, the report found.
“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,” the report said. “Payments were made to these women using peer-to-peer payment platforms such as PayPal, Venmo, and CashApp; while Representative Gaetz had accounts in his name on each of those platforms, he also sometimes paid women through another person’s PayPal account, or through an account held under a pseudonymous e-mail account.”
Among the woman Gaetz allegedly paid for sex was a person identified in the report as Woman 1, whom the committee said received over $63,000 from the congressman over a three-year period and who at one point became his girlfriend.
“The Committee’s record indicates that Representative Gaetz was in a long-term relationship with Woman 1, and therefore some of the payments may have been of a legitimate nature; however, as discussed further below, Woman 1 asserted her Fifth Amendment right when asked whether the payments to her from Representative Gaetz were for sexual activity and/or drugs, or for her to pass on to others for such purposes,” the report said, adding that the committee “found substantial reason to believe that most of these payments were for such activity.”
Report details compromising text messages
Some of Gaetz’s own text messages allegedly implicated him in unlawful behavior, according to the report.
“In one text exchange viewed by the Committee, Representative Gaetz balked at a woman’s request that he send her money after he accused her of ‘ditching’ him on a night when she was feeling tired, claiming she only gave him a ‘drive by,’” the document said. “The woman asserted to Representative Gaetz that she was being ‘treated differently’ than other women he was paying for sex.”
There were allegedly more texts in a similar vein.
“The Committee also obtained text messages in which Representative Gaetz’s then-girlfriend informed some of the women who were typically paid for sex that ‘the guys [Representative Gaetz and Mr. Greenberg] wanted me to share that they are a little limited in their cash flow this weekend . . . [M]att was like[,] if it can be more of a customer appreciation week. . . . ‘” the report said. “A few months later, she noted that, ‘Btw Matt also mentioned he is going to be a bit generous cause of the ‘customer appreciation’ thing last time.’”
Gaetz allegedly observed using drugs
Multiple witnesses linked Gaetz to drug use in testimony before the committee, according to the report.
One woman “said that she brought cocaine to at least one event with Representative Gaetz and that she witnessed him taking cocaine or ecstasy on at least five occasions,” the report said. “Mr. Greenberg told the Committee that he would typically provide drugs, such as ecstasy, for events he attended and Representative Gaetz would pay him back in cash. Several other women observed Representative Gaetz to be under the influence of drugs.”
The report also said nearly every witness interviewed reported seeing Gaetz use marijuana, and that “he appears to have set up a pseudonymous e-mail account from his House office in the Capitol complex for the purpose of purchasing marijuana.”
Testimony from women who received payments
The report said one of the people Gaetz allegedly paid for sexual favors was a 21-year-old woman who needed help with her tuition.
“When she arrived to pick up the check, she found Mr. Greenberg and [another] 20-year-old woman present,” the report said. “The 21-year-old woman told the Committee there was an ‘expectation’ of a ‘sexual encounter.’ The four of them had sex and afterwards Representative Gaetz gave her a $750 check made out to cash with ‘tuition reimbursement’ in the memo line, which she deposited the next day to help pay her tuition.”
The woman told investigators she felt vulnerable in the moment.
“The 21-year-old woman told the Committee she believed that the encounter ‘could potentially be a form of coercion because I really needed the money,’” the report said.
Trips to the Bahamas, New York
The report also referenced a trip Gaetz took to the Bahamas in September 2018 with two other men and six women. Committee investigators found most, “if not all,” of the women “had some history” of having sex with him for cash, the report said.
“While there were no specific payments to the women in connection with the Bahamas trip, according to one woman, ‘the trip itself was more so the payment,’” the filing said, adding that Gaetz had sex with at least four of them during the excursion.
In January 2019, the report said, Gaetz arranged for two women to rendezvous with him and his then-girlfriend in New York.
“The Committee reviewed text messages in which Representative Gaetz asked the women about obtaining drugs in advance of the trip, stating, ‘[w]ho can help w[ith] party favors?’” the report said. “In addition to paying for their travel costs, the Committee received evidence that Representative Gaetz sent the women money to compensate them for sexual activities they engaged in with him during the trip.”
Women told the committee Gaetz tried to persuade them to engage in various sexual acts, according to the filing.
“The women also discussed instances where Representative Gaetz would try to convince them to have sex with him or Mr. Greenberg: ‘[H]e would make me feel bad about not having sex with him or Joel Greenberg’ and that he would say, ‘Why don’t you want to have sex with me’ or ‘[Mr. Greenberg] looks very sad over there . . . . Make him happy,’” the report said. “ … A third woman said, ‘[W]hen I look back on certain moments, I feel violated.’ One woman said, ‘I think about it all the time . . . . I still see him when I turn on the tv and there’s nothing anyone can do. It’s frustrating to know I lived a reality that he denies.’”
Alleged encounter with 17-year-old
Gaetz met a 17-year-old girl, identified in the report as Victim A, in July 2017 at a party at the home of a Florida lobbyist, the filing said.
“The record overwhelmingly suggests that Representative Gaetz had sex with multiple women at the party, including the then-17-year-old, for which they were paid,” said the report, which included a footnote that said “Mr. Greenberg informed the Committee that the day after this party, Representative Gaetz bragged that ‘he had sex with six girls in one day and named all of them,’ including Victim A.”
The report said Victim A recalled receiving $400 from Gaetz, which she understood to be payment for sex.
“At the time, she had just completed her junior year of high school,” the report said. “Victim A said that she did not inform Representative Gaetz that she was under 18 at the time, nor did he ask her age. The Committee did not receive any evidence indicating that Representative Gaetz was aware that Victim A was a minor when he had sex with her.”
Victim A acknowledged being under the influence of ecstasy during the party and also recalled seeing Gaetz use cocaine, officials said.
“Victim A told the Committee she was ‘certain’ of her sexual encounters with Representative Gaetz on that night,” the report said, adding that the lawmaker “generally denied engaging in sexual activity with a minor but refused to answer specific questions relating to his interactions with Victim A.”
Gaetz responds
In September, the embattled lawmaker sent a letter to the committee denying having sex with anyone underage.
Gaetz “asserted in his September 26, 2024, letter to the Committee: ‘Your correspondence of September 4 asks whether I have engaged in sexual activity with any individual under 18. The answer to this question is unequivocally NO. You can apply this response to every version of this question, in every forum,’” the report said.
The committee didn’t find that statement credible, according to the report, which noted Gaetz had publicly described payments to women as generosity to former girlfriends.
“Representative Gaetz took advantage of the economic vulnerability of young women to lure them into sexual activity for which they received an average of a few hundred dollars after each encounter,” the report said. “Such behavior is not ‘generosity to ex-girlfriends,’ and it does not reflect creditably upon the House.”
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
