House Ethics Committee Report on Gaetz Won’t be Released: Chairman

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) speaks to members of the press in the spin room after President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump's presidential debate in Atlanta, Ga., on June 27, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

A report detailing the investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) by the U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee will not be released after the congressman’s resignation, the panel’s chairman said on Nov. 14.

“What happens in Ethics is confidential. We’re going to maintain that confidentiality,” Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.), the chairman, told reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington.

President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he is choosing Gaetz to be the attorney general once his second administration starts.

Gaetz then resigned from Congress. His resignation letter was read during a House session on Thursday.

Before the resignation, Guest had said the Ethics Committee would meet after the Gaetz probe was completed and then report its findings. But if a resignation occurred, he said, then the probe would immediately stop.

The committee said in 2021 that its investigation of Gaetz included allegations of sexual misconduct and accepting a bribe.

The U.S. Department of Justice later began an investigation of the Florida congressman, prompting a pause in the committee’s work. Federal officials withdrew their deferral request in 2023, and the committee probe resumed, the panel said in June.

U.S. prosecutors never brought charges against Gaetz and his lawyers have said officials informed them that the investigation was dropped.

Confirmation of the attorney general nominee requires a majority vote by the Senate. In the next Congress, Republicans will have 53 seats in the upper chamber, and Vice President-elect JD Vance can break any ties as president of the Senate.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), current chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement on Thursday that the House Ethics Committee should share its report on Gaetz with the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“The sequence and timing of Mr. Gaetz’s resignation from the House raises serious questions about the contents of the House Ethics Committee report. We cannot allow this valuable information from a bipartisan investigation to be hidden from the American people,” Durbin said. “Make no mistake: this information could be relevant to the question of Mr. Gaetz’s confirmation as the next Attorney General of the United States and our constitutional responsibility of advice and consent.”

Several Republican senators have indicated they might vote against Gaetz.

“I do not see him as a serious candidate,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said.

“I think he’s got a lot of work to do to get 50 [votes],” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).

Others expressed support or were noncommittal.

“I’ve known Matt for a very long time. We’re friends. I think he would do a very good job for the president,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), whom Trump tapped as secretary of state.

“We’ll handle it like any other nomination,“ said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). ”I’m not going to prejudge any of these.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.