In reversal, key House panel votes to release Matt Gaetz ethics report
CNN
By Alayna Treene, Manu Raju and Sarah Ferris, CNN
(CNN) — The House Ethics Committee secretly voted earlier this month to release its report into the conduct of former Rep. Matt Gaetz before the end of this Congress, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter.
The report is now expected to be made public after the House’s final day of votes this year as lawmakers leave Washington for the holidays, those sources said.
The vote, which has not previously been reported, amounts to a stark reversal for the panel after it had voted along party lines in late November not to release the results of the investigation. The decision to release the report suggests that some Republicans ultimately decided to side with Democrats on the matter, and it is unclear if the committee will once again change course now that it has voted.
When the committee voted last month to shelve the report, Gaetz was President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be attorney general. Since then, Gaetz withdrew himself from consideration for the Senate-confirmed post, though he maintains frosty relations with many in his party and is still active in GOP politics.
It is exceedingly rare for an ethics report to be released after a member has left Congress, though it has happened on a couple of occasions in the past. The committee revisited the issue behind closed doors earlier this month after a feud over the report spilled into public view before Thanksgiving.
The Ethics Committee’s report concludes a years-long probe into numerous allegations against Gaetz, including whether he engaged in sexual misconduct, used illicit drugs, “shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gifts,” according to an announcement by the panel last summer.
Gaetz has vigorously denied all the allegations and has characterized the investigation as a witch hunt.
In a post on X in response to CNN’s reporting on Wednesday, Gaetz emphasized that he was “FULLY EXONERATED” by a separate Department of Justice probe. And he said he “NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18” — a claim that is addressed in the House Ethics report, CNN has previously reported.
“My 30’s were an era of working very hard – and playing hard too. It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now.”
Speaker Mike Johnson has said that he does not believe the report should be released, since Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress after he abruptly resigned once Trump announced him as his initial attorney general choice. Johnson has acknowledged he has no role on the operations of the panel, which has traditionally operated separately from leadership. Many lawmakers believed that Gaetz resigned to try to bury the investigation.
Gaetz, who was reelected to the seat last month prior to his resignation, has said he has no plans of returning to Congress next year.
“I’m still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch. I do not intend to join the 119th Congress,” he told Charlie Kirk in an interview last month.
“I’m going to be fighting for President Trump. I’m going to be doing whatever he asks of me, as I always have. But I think that eight years is probably enough time in the United States Congress,” he said.
He also recently announced that he will be joining One America News Network in January.
A spokesman for the committee did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
This story has been updated with additional reaction.
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