Matt Gaetz, an ally of Trump, claims that the House Ethics Committee has issued a subpoena for him in connection with a probe into his sexual and drug-related activities.

• The House Ethics Committee will subpoena Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida as it probes into allegations of sexual misconduct or drug use.
• The congressman, who has been the subject of controversy, disclosed the possibility of a subpoena while stating that he will no longer cooperate with the committee's investigation.
• Trump was reportedly aided by Gaetz in preparing for his debate with Harris, who was the Democratic nominee.

On Thursday, Rep. Matt Gaetz announced that he has been informed that the House Ethics Committee intends to subpoena him as part of its investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor or illegal drug use.

The Ethics Committee received an angry letter from Gaetz, a former President Trump ally, stating that he will no longer voluntarily participate in the panel's probe and that a subpoena for his testimony is planned.

Gaetz acknowledged that a subpoena has been issued but not served, yet he remained silent on whether he would comply with it.

In the letter he posted on X, he explicitly reserved all of his rights as per House Rules and the U.S. Constitution.

On Sept. 4, the committee questioned Gaetz about whether he had any sexual activity with individuals under 18.

"The answer to this question is unequivocally NO," he wrote.

He was less direct in his answer to whether he had taken drugs illegally.

He stated that he had not used any illegal drugs, except in jurisdictions where their use is legal under U.S. law.

Gaetz stated that he has never used "illicit" drugs, which he considers to be drugs that are illegal for medical or over-the-counter use throughout the United States.

The Ethics panel's inquiries were deemed "uncomfortably intrusive" by him, implying they had probed into "the legal, voluntary sexual activities of adults," which he believed were "outside the purview of Congress."

Over several months, I have voluntarily produced tens of thousands of records and answered many of your relevant questions, Gaetz wrote.

"As a single man, discussing my sexual history with adult women is beyond the limit. I will no longer participate in this abusive behavior by the Committee."

The bipartisan panel's investigation into the congressman was decried as a "political payback exercise, devoid of adequate due process, riddled with leaks, and now seeking deeply personal information that is no business of Congress." The congressman considered the letter he sent as his "final response" to the panel.

"My political opponents are investigating and judging me," Gaetz wrote to Guest and Wild in the letter.

An Ethics Committee spokesman declined to comment on the letter.

The committee in June concluded that some of the allegations against Gaetz require further investigation and that they have uncovered additional accusations.

The panel is probing into whether Gaetz may have committed sexual misconduct and used illegal drugs, received undue gifts, granted special favors to those he had personal relationships with, and hindered investigations into his behavior.

In June, the committee stated that it would not take any additional action on the accusations that he may have shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, used campaign funds for personal use, and/or accepted a bribe or improper gratuity.

In Congress, Gaetz is a prominent figure on the far-right wing of the Republican Party.

In 2023, he played a key role in leading an internal Republican effort to remove former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his position, while maintaining a strong relationship with Trump, the GOP's presidential candidate.

McCarthy stated in April that he is no longer speaker due to one person's request to halt an ethics complaint against him for sleeping with a 17-year-old.

"McCarthy stated that he was unsure if Gaetz committed the offense, but ethics was investigating it. Other individuals were already in jail due to the same issue, and Gaetz had requested McCarthy to influence the outcome."

Trump allegedly received assistance from Gaetz in preparing for his Sept. 10 presidential debate with Harris, the Democratic nominee.

On Thursday, Gaetz claimed in a letter that a "Jailhouse Informant" had been informed by Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax official and a former friend of Gaetz, that Greenberg had planned to falsely accuse Gaetz of having sexual contact with a minor in order to reduce his own prison sentence.

In 2021, Greenberg admitted to charges of sex trafficking a minor girl in a case linked to a federal investigation of Gaetz.

Greenberg, according to Gaetz's letter, informed the informant that his victim was willing to embrace Greenberg's lie in order to secure future financial gains.

In February 2023, the Department of Justice decided not to pursue criminal charges against Gaetz.

The House Ethics Committee renewed its investigation of Gaetz three months later.

The congressman in the letter accused the DOJ of leaking information about him to The New York Times and claimed that the "Biden Justice Department hates me" because "I ask the toughest questions of their top officials."