House Ethics Committee Has Not Agreed To Release Report On Gaetz

After meeting behind closed doors on Wednesday, the House Ethics Committee did not agree to release a report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump for attorney general.

Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest (R-MS) told reporters following the meeting, “There was not an agreement by the committee to release the report,” POLITICO reported. Guest added that the committee agreed to “reconvene as a committee on Dec. 5 to further consider this matter.”

The committee’s investigation into Gaetz is over alleged sexual misconduct, but Guest has said that the report has not yet been finalized. While most of the committee members did not reveal any details about the meeting, the top Democrat on the Ethics Committee, Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, said that her party did not agree with the decision to withhold the report from the public.

“I do not want the American public or anyone else to think Mr. Guests’ characterization of what transpired today would be some sort of indication that the committee had unanimity or consensus on this issue not to release the report,” she said.

Gaetz resigned from Congress shortly after being tapped by Trump for attorney general. Typically, the Ethics Committee drops investigations into members once they are no longer in Congress, but reports have been released on former members at least twice in the past, according to POLITICO.

The former Florida congressman was also the subject of a DOJ sex trafficking investigation, but no charges were brought against him. Some Republican senators — such as Maine’s Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota — have expressed concerns over Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general. Gaetz needs a simple Senate majority to be confirmed, and beginning in January, Republicans will hold 53 seats.

“I said from the beginning that I was shocked by the nomination given the many allegations,” Collins said, “But that’s why it’s important that the Senate go through its process of making sure that we have a background check, that we have a Senate investigation which involves extensive interviews and questionnaires and then a public hearing.”

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Vice President-elect JD Vance took Gaetz around Capitol Hill on Wednesday to meet with key senators ahead of his confirmation hearing. After meeting with Vance and Gaetz, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) urged his Senate colleagues “not to join the lynch mob” over Gaetz’s confirmation hearing.

“This process will not be a rubber stamp nor will it be driven by a lynch mob,” Graham posted on X. “My record is clear. I tend to defer to presidential cabinet choices unless the evidence suggests disqualification. I fear the process surrounding the Gaetz nomination is turning into an angry mob, and unverified allegations are being treated as if they are true. I have seen this movie before.”