In a letter, Gaetz accused the panel of using the inquiry as a “political payback exercise” that seeks “deeply personal information that is no business of Congress.”

The letter comes after the committee confirmed reports earlier this summer that it is investigating whether Gaetz has engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use while also giving “special privileges” to individuals with whom he had personal relationships.

“This question about my sexual history reveals a sinister motive of the Committee to harm me and those who have had any association with me,” Gaetz said in what he called his “final response” to the committee. “To date, I have voluntarily produced tens of thousands of records and answered many of your relevant questions over several months. But asking about my sexual history as a single man with adult women is a bridge too far.”

As a result, Gaetz said, he would no longer participate voluntarily in the investigation.

However, that does not mean the Florida Republican will not be called to testify. Gaetz noted in his letter that the Ethics Committee has issued a subpoena for his testimony, although it has not yet been served.

The Washington Examiner contacted a committee spokesperson for comment.

The Ethics Committee first opened the inquiry into Gaetz in April 2021 based on allegations of lobbying violations, sex trafficking, sex with a minor, and obstruction of justice. The panel later referred the allegations to the Department of Justice, which closed the investigation after concluding it had not found enough evidence to charge the congressman with any crimes.

However, the Ethics Committee later reopened the investigation in May 2023. Since then, the panel has closed four inquiries into Gaetz related to allegations he “shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe or improper gratuity.”

However, the allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use are still under review.

“You ask, in part, whether I’ve had sex with a list of adult women over the past seven years,” Gaetz said in his letter. “The lawful, consensual, sexual activities of adults are not the business of Congress. Neither is a detailing of medications I have taken under the color of law.”

Gaetz has repeatedly denied the allegations, previously accusing former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) of greenlighting the inquiry last year due to personal conflicts between the two. McCarthy even cited the ethics investigation as the primary reason for his ouster as the top Republican in the House, which Gaetz led last year.

The Florida Republican also criticized the committee for relying on “star witness” Joel Greenberg, a former friend and political ally of Gaetz who is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to charges of sex trafficking in May 2021. 

Gaetz claimed he provided a memo to the Ethics Committee written by federal agents detailing an interview with a jailhouse informant who claimed Greenberg talked about plans to frame Gaetz in exchange for a lesser sentence.

“I provided the Committee dispositive evidence of my innocence by producing a ‘smoking gun’ contemporaneous, jailhouse writing, documenting the plot to frame me, which includes both Joel Greenberg and his victim,” Gaetz said. “This was authenticated by two former federal agents who interviewed the jailhouse informant who revealed the plot against me.”

Greenberg “has cooperated and is cooperating” with congressional requests for information, his lawyer Fritz Scheller told the Washington Examiner earlier this year. Scheller did not disclose whether Greenberg had submitted materials supporting the sex allegations against Gaetz, but he noted “that documents provided to Congress support statements Mr. Greenberg has made in the past.”

The timing of Gaetz’s letter suggests the committee may be nearing the end of its investigation and in the process of finalizing a report. The inquiry has spanned three years and two Congresses.