Close to 100 House Democrats signed a letter to the House Ethics Committee asking for the “immediate release” of its investigative report on former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who was tapped to be attorney general in the second Trump administration.
Gaetz, who has been accused of sexual misconduct, has been under investigation by the Ethics Committee for over three years. With his nomination to become leader of the Department of Justice, both Republicans and Democrats are demanding the report be released before the Senate votes on his Cabinet nomination.
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The letter, led by Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) and sent Tuesday, argues the report’s findings “remain relevant” despite Gaetz’s decision to resign from Congress last week. The Ethics panel is slated to meet Wednesday.
Republicans on the Ethics Committee have argued his resignation means the committee no longer has jurisdiction over Gaetz, but many GOP lawmakers have come out publicly against Gaetz’s nomination or called on the committee to release the report.
“This is not a partisan issue … Given the seriousness of the charges against Representative Gaetz, withholding the findings of your investigation may jeopardize the Senate’s ability to provide fully informed, constitutionally required advice and consent regarding this nomination,” the House Democrats wrote.
The Democrats noted that while the Ethics Committee traditionally stops investigating alleged misconduct when a resignation occurs, there is precedent for continuing an inquiry and releasing findings “after a member has resigned in a scandal.”
They pointed to the committee’s decision to continue investigating former New York Democratic Rep. Eric Massa for inappropriate sexual behavior after he resigned. Ethics reports on former Reps. Bill Boner and Mark Foley were also made public after they stepped down.
The Ethics Committee was two days away from voting on whether to share its findings when Gaetz resigned last week, prompting speculation that he stepped down to avoid the report’s release on Friday. The panel canceled its Friday meeting on the matter as a result, but the bipartisan group is scheduled to convene Wednesday under pressure to release the report and also to bury it, as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has advised over concerns it could open up a “Pandora’s box.”
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Releasing the ethics report could clear the former congressman or have dire political consequences for Gaetz, who is accused of having sex with a 17-year-old. Gaetz maintains that he has committed no wrongdoing.
However, Democrats argue he is wholly unfit for the role of attorney general, arguing his ethics allegations and behavior on the House floor should disqualify him. On the other side, Republicans have argued Gaetz is a “disruptor” and that is what the DOJ needs.
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Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA), the top Democrat on the Ethics Committee, told reporters Monday that she supports the report being released to both the Senate and the public. Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD) has also said that traditionally, the Senate always gets what it requests.
“I can’t talk about our internal deliberations, but the information that they’ve requested, I think it’s totally reasonable for them to have, and in fact, I think it’s essential for them to get that kind of information before they make a decision of this magnitude,” Ivey said last week.