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Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump’s former pick for US attorney-general, has been accused by lawmakers of having sex with an underage girl, paying women for sex and using illegal drugs in an explosive report that published on Monday.

The House ethics committee found “overwhelming evidence” that the former Republican lawmaker violated not only the rules of Congress, but also state and federal laws.

“The committee determined that there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated the Rules of the House and other standards of conduct that prohibit prostitution, statutory rape, use of illegal drugs, unauthorized gifts, special favors or privileges , and obstruction of Congress,” the panel concluded.

Gaetz, a fierce Trump ally considered a potential Florida governor and Senate candidate, has denied any wrongdoing, and posted by X that he was not charged after the previous investigation of sexual misconduct by the Department of Justice.

Last week he wrote: “I was not charged: Totally dismissed. It is not a campaign finance violation. And the people who investigated me hated me. . . I have NEVER had sex with someone under 18 years old.

“It’s a shame, even if it’s not a crime, that I may have been partying, womanizing, drinking and smoking more than I should have done before in life. My life is different now.”

The controversial 42-year-old was chosen by president-elect Trump to be his attorney-general in mid-November despite having limited legal experience, sending shockwaves through Washington.

Just a few days ago Gaetz His name was withdrawn from consideration, saying that his selection “unfairly interfered with the critical work of the Trump/Vance transition”, referring to the selection of the president-elect for vice-president, JD Vance.

Trump later selected former Florida state attorney-general Pam Bondi to replace Gaetz.

In its report the committee said that between 2017 and 2020, Gaetz made payments to women worth tens of thousands of dollars “probably related to sexual activity and/or drug use”.

In one instance, Gaetz in 2017 allegedly paid a 17-year-old boy for sex at a party, according to his understanding of the cash transaction. The committee wrote that he had just finished his junior year of high school and was under the influence of ecstasy during his intercourse with Gaetz. There is no evidence that the former lawmaker knew he was a minor, it added.

A year later, Gaetz allegedly took part in a trip to the Bahamas with two other men and six women – a gift that “exceeds the permissible amount”, the report said.

The former congressman allegedly had sex with at least four of the women. While no one received payments specifically for the excursion, one woman told the committee that “the trip itself was worth more”.

All the women interviewed by the committee said their sex with Gaetz was consensual. But one said that the use of drugs can “damage their ability to know what is happening or fully consent”, while another said: “(If) if I remember some moments, I feel violated.”

The report said witnesses also saw Gaetz consuming marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy.

In 2018, the former representative allegedly arranged for his chief of staff to help a woman he was having an affair with to obtain a passport, falsely declaring to the Department of State that she was a constituent. The chief of staff has been reached for comment.

Some Trump allies rallied behind the former congressman after the report. “Matt Gaetz must return to Congress as a conquering hero on the shoulders of the people,” wrote former strategist to president-elect Steve Bannon in X.