More details now from the report into Matt Gaetz.

The ethics committee found evidence Gaetz “dispensed special privileges and favours” to people with whom he had a personal relationship.

The report claims Gaetz arranged for his Chief of Staff to help a woman – that he had engaged in sexual activity with - in obtaining a passport. Gaetz did this by “falsely indicating” that the woman was a constituent, according to the committee.

The report reads: “The Committee found substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz used the power of his office to assist a woman with whom he was engaged in a sexual relationship in obtaining an expedited passport".

"The woman was not his constituent, and the case was not handled in the same manner as similar passport assistance cases."

We can now bring you more details on "Victim A", who told the Ethics Committee she and Gaetz had sex when she was underage.

The then-17-year-old said she had sex with Gaetz twice during a party in 2017 and received $400 (£320) from him - which she "understood to be payment for sex".

She said Gaetz didn't ask her for her age, and she didn't tell him she was 17. The committee says it didn't receive any evidence that suggested he knew she was a minor.

The woman, who had just finished her junior year of high school at the time, said she was under the influence of ecstasy during her encounters with Gaetz at the party, but was "certain" of the events.

Gaetz has repeatedly denied these allegations. He refused to answer the committee's specific questions related to Victim A, the report says.

He incorrectly stated that he had been "exonerated" by the Department of Justice (DoJ), the report says, after the DoJ decided not to charge him following an investigation of his involvement with the minor.

The Ethics committee found Gaetz broke several House of Representative rules.

Here's what the report says:

• Gaetz allegedly used illicit drugs including cocaine, ecstasy and marijuana, breaking the House code of ethics and officials conduct by providing drugs to others.
• Gaetz allegedly violated House gift rules too when he accepted private plane and travel payment for a trip to the Bahamas.
• Gaetz allegedly dispensed special favours to a woman he was in a relationship with including using the power of his office to get a woman he was engaged in a sexual relationship with an expedited passport.
• Gaetz allegedly tried to obstruct the investigation into his wrongdoing by continuing to "deflect, deter, or mislead the Committee in order to prevent his actions from being exposed"

Gaetz is no longer a member of the House of Representatives, he resigned his position when Donald Trump nominated him for the Attorney General role. He has since stood down from that nomination also.

The House Ethics Committee's report found "substantial evidence" former lawmaker Matt Gaetz broke three laws.

Gaetz has not been charged with any of these allegations and he has denied any wrongdoing.

Here's what the report says:

• Gaetz engaged in commercial sex, paying women for sex which violates Florida state law
• Gaetz violated Florida's statutory rape law by engaging in sexual activity with a 17-year-old
• Gaetz used illegal drugs including cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana from 2017 to 2020

The report says Gaetz did not violate federal sex trafficking laws, with the committee finding at the times he was accused of paying women to travel for commercial sex, the women were over the age of 18

Image source, Getty Images

Back to the contents of the Ethics Committee report now. In one section, Gaetz is described as being “uncooperative throughout the Committee’s review” and refusing to appear for questioning.

"He provided minimal documentation in response to the Committee’s requests. He also did not agree to a voluntary interview,” the report reads.

"Gaetz continuously sought to deflect, deter, or mislead the Committee in order to prevent his actions from being exposed," the report says.

The committee added Gaetz did not submit his testimony despite a subpoena being issued.

In the absence of this, the former congressman was sent a set of written questions. Gaetz, however, issued a response publicly and asserted he would “no longer voluntarily participate” in the investigation.

The report goes on to say Gaetz had frequently suggested he had insufficient opportunities to respond to the allegations, but during that time he also sent "more than a dozen letters to the Chairman and Ranking Member".

The report says Gaetz had claimed the committee was "weaponized" against him.

Image source, Getty Images

In its report, the US House Ethics Committee says it lost jurisdiction to continue the investigation once Matt Gaetz resigned from his House seat shortly after being nominated by Trump to become attorney general.

The committee hasn't typically released findings after losing jurisdiction in a matter, the report says, but it did so in this case after determining it was in the public interest.

It says it was not a decision taken "lightly".

The committee adds that members voted on whether to release the report on 10 December - and although "several" members did not support its release, the majority voted in favour.

The House ethics committee is made up of five members from the Republican Party, and five members from the Democratic Party.

While all of the women who were interviewed by the committee said their sexual activity with Gaetz was consensual, not all of them felt comfortable with their interactions, the report states.

At least one woman interviewed told the committee that the use of drugs at the parties they attended may have "impair[ed their] ability to really know what was going on or fully consent".

And nearly every woman told the committee they couldn't remember the details of one or more events they attended with Gaetz. They attributed that to alcohol or drug consumption.

Women told the committee Gaetz would try to convince them to have sex with him or his former friend Joel Greenberg.

"[H]e would make me feel bad about not having sex with him or Joel Greenberg," one woman told the committee. Another woman told the committee that when she revisited certain moments she felt "violated".

Within the House Ethics Committee report there is a full page of transactions that show Gaetz paying 12 women and Greenberg large sums of money.

Between 2017 and 2020, Gaetz paid an unnamed woman, a former girlfriend, more than $63,000, the report says.

Because Gaetz was in a relationship with this woman, the committee said they believed some of the payments made to her may be of "legitimate nature".

While testifying she asserted her Fifth Amendment right not to answer further questions such as whether or not the payments were for sexual activity or drugs, the committee notes.

Despite that the committee said they found "substantial reason to believe that most of these payments were for such activity".

Besides the payments made to his former girlfriend, the committee said they believed many of the payments made to the 12 women and Greenberg were made in connection with sexual activity and illicit drug use but they could not quantify the amount.

Image source, Getty Images

We're still reading through the report into former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz's alleged misconduct.

The report states that between 2017-2020, Gaetz paid "tens of thousands of dollars" across at least 20 occasions to women that the committee determined "were likely in connection with sexual activity and/or drug use".

The report states many of the women interviewed "were clear that there was a general expectation of sex" and text messages show Gaetz would ask the women "to bring drugs to their rendezvous".

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 reads.

Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.

One section of the report narrows in on Gaetz's relationship with his former friend Joel Greenberg.

Greenberg and Gaetz attended parties with women who were invited by Greenberg using a website. The site connected older men and younger women who were seeking "mutually beneficial relationships".

Women interviewed by the committee said the website was widely understood to be and exchange of companionship for money, "at minimum," according to the report.

The committee said it learned that Greenberg and Gaetz would split the costs of the women, the hotels and the drugs from these interactions.

In addition the committee said Gaetz individually paid women to attend parties.

Greenberg was indicted on charges including sex trafficking of a child. He co-operated with officials and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Image source, EPA

In its report, the House Ethics Committee says it found "substantial evidence" that:

• From at least 2017 to 2020, Gaetz "regularly" paid women for sexual activity, and engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl in this period
• He used or possessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, on multiple occasions between 2017 and 2019
• He accepted gifts in excess of permissible amounts in connection to a 2018 Bahamas trip
• He arranged for his chief of staff to help a woman he was involved with sexually to obtain a passport, falsely indicating to the US Department of State that she was a constituent
• He "knowingly and wilfully sought to impede and obstruct" the committee's investigation and acted in a manner that reflects discreditably upon the House

Gaetz has repeatedly denied all allegations against him and rejected the report's findings earlier today.

Shortly before the House ethics report was released, former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz took to social media to criticise its findings.

The final draft of the report says the committee found evidence that Gaetz "regularly paid women for engaging in sexual activity with him".

Gaetz challenged the findings, saying he gave money to people he was dating. He also claims they did not ask for the cash.

"There is a reason they did this to me in a Christmas Eve-Eve report and not in a courtroom of any kind where I could present evidence and challenge witnesses," Gaetz writes on X.

In a separate tweet, he adds: "This is the trafficking 'victim' claiming under oath that this characterization is false."

Gaetz has repeatedly denied all of the allegations against him.

Image source, Reuters

The House Ethics Committee's report investigating allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use by former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz has been released, external.

The 37-page report details the findings from a long-running investigation by the committee.

Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, writing on X last week: "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."

We are reading through the report now and will bring you all of the top lines as soon as possible.

Image source, Reuters

Much of Washington was surprised when Trump selected Gaetz to be his attorney general.

His name was not on many shortlists and the one-time Florida congressman, while extremely loyal to Trump, has few friends in Washington.

There was immediate backlash and concern about the Gaetz nomination after it was announced and speculation began swirling that he could not survive a Senate confirmation.

Gaetz withdrew his nomination eight days after Trump unveiled his plans.

Days later, the president-elect announced Pam Bondi would be his new attorney general pick.

• Read more: The rise and fall of Matt Gaetz in eight wild days

Image source, Reuters

Matt Gaetz has long been a controversial figure in Washington.

Before Trump nominated the Florida firebrand to be his attorney general in November, Gaetz was best known for leading the effort to unseat then-Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy last year.

He made headlines before this when, in 2018, he brought a Holocaust denier to the State of the Union, and attempted to expel two fathers who lost children in a mass shooting from a hearing.

Gaetz, first elected to represent Florida in 2016, has enemies across the political aisle but is a staunch Trump loyalist.

He resigned as a lawmaker after the Trump nomination.

The 42-year-old later withdrew from consideration as attorney general after he faced strong opposition from both Republicans and Democrats.

While we await the findings of the report, Gaetz has confirmed that he will not be returning to the House of Representatives and is set to become an anchor on a conservative news network.

Image source, Reuters

Former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz also faces the allegation that he used and purchased illegal drugs - including from his Capitol Hill office, according to the final draft of 37-page report which CBS News, the BBC's news US partner, has obtained.

CBS News says the draft report states: “The Committee determined there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress.”

The document, which is yet to be released, also reportedly details allegations of sex and drug-fuelled parties and travel, including a 2018 trip to the Bahamas.

"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 notes, per CBS News.

Gaetz has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing and claims he is a victim of a smear campaign.

Image source, Reuters

As we've been reporting, Matt Gaetz is facing allegations that he paid numerous women for sex - including a 17-year-old girl, according to an investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

In a final draft of the report, seen by the BBC's US partner CBS News but not yet publicly released, the committee reportedly says it received testimony that Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old girl, identified as "Victim A", twice at a party in 2017.

The girl, who had just completed her junior year in high school, "recalled receiving $400 (£320) in cash" from Gaetz, the committee report says, according to CBS News, "which she understood to be payment for sex".

She says Gaetz did not ask her age and she did not tell him that she was under 18, according to the report.

Gaetz has denied all wrongdoing and denied having any "sexual contact with someone under 18".

Image source, Getty Images

Hours before the anticipated public release of the House Ethics Committee report, Gaetz is trying to stop its dissemination.

Gaetz is suing the committee and its chairman, Republican Congressman Michael Guest, in an attempt to block the release of the report.

The former Florida congressman is asking a Washington DC federal court to "issue a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction prohibiting Defendants, their agents, servants, employees, attorneys, and all persons in active concert or participation with them, from releasing, publishing, or otherwise making public any report, findings, or other materials relating to their investigation of Plaintiff," the suit says, according to the BBC's US partner CBS.

Image source, Getty Images

Matt Gaetz resigned from Congress after President-elect Trump nominated him to be attorney general.

There were some questions over whether he would return to Congress after he withdrew his nomination but he has since said he wouldn't.

"I’m still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch. I do not intend to join the 119th Congress," he told media personality Charlie Kirk earlier this month.

Since leaving Washington, Gaetz has signed a deal to become an anchor on One America News Network (OAN). He'll join the conservative news network in January.

He has also started selling personalised video messages on the video platform Cameo.

Image source, Getty Images

The House Ethics Committee is tasked with enforcing standards of conduct for members of the House of Representatives.

Its members, made up of five Republicans and five Democrats, investigate alleged violations of any law, rule or regulations. They can make recommendations to the House for further action where needed.

The Ethics Committee also reviews financial disclosure statements filed by representatives, candidates as well as senior and shared staff.