House Speaker Johnson says he does not believe a potentially damning report on an investigation into Congressman Matt Gaetz should be released.
The House Ethics Committee has been investigating allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, and obstruction involving Mr. Gaetz. However, it was unclear if the report would be released after the Florida congressman resigned following President Trump’s decision to appoint him as his attorney general. The resignation will end the investigation, as the committee will not have jurisdiction after he leaves Congress. An unresolved question is whether the committee will still release its report.
On Friday, Mr. Johnson told Politico reporter Mia McCarthy he does not support releasing the report, saying, “I’m going to strongly request that the Ethics Committee not issue the report because that is not the way we do things in the House, and I think that would be a terrible precedent to set.”
Mr. Johnson said that former House members are “beyond the jurisdiction” of the committee.”
Mr. Gaetz has denied wrongdoing and claimed the committee’s investigation is politically driven. The Justice Department investigated some of the allegations the House Ethics Committee has been probing, including that he had sex with a 17-year-old girl. However, the department closed the investigation last year without bringing charges.
The announcement of Mr. Gaetz’s nomination to be the nation’s top law enforcement official has sent shockwaves through Capitol Hill. He drew the ire of many of his colleagues after he led the effort to oust House Speaker McCarthy last year. Several Republican senators have expressed a desire to see the details of the House Ethics Committee’s investigation and suggested his confirmation may not be easy.
Senator Ernst told NBC News that it would be “helpful” to see the report. Meanwhile, Senator Cramer of North Dakota told the Washington Post, “For me, the message to the administration is simply that Matt Gaetz has a very long, steep hill to get across the finish line, and it will require the spending of a lot of capita.”
“That ethics report is clearly going to become a part of the record,” Mr. Cramer added.
Senator Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also told the Post he would “absolutely” like to see the report and noted that senators “also have the resources of the FBI to do a background investigation as well. So one way or the other, as you know around here, facts ultimately come out.”
While Mr. Johnson said he would recommend against releasing the report into Mr. Gaetz, the House Ethics Committee has not made a decision on the matter. The committee’s chairman, Congressman Michael Guest, said a meeting to discuss whether to release the report or share it with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee has been postponed after reports indicated it was canceled.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
