WASHINGTON — Republicans on the U.S. House Ethics Panel objected Wednesday to the public release of a long-awaited report on Matt Gaetz, a former House member who is now a candidate for U.S. attorney general, according to Susan Wild, the top Democrat on the panel.
Outgoing congresswoman from Pennsylvania he said reporters that the evenly divided 10-member House Ethics Committee voted but split along party lines. The report includes findings on whether Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and the utilize of illegal drugs, as well as other allegations involving gifts and privileges.
Statement by President-elect Donald Trump last week that he intends to nominate Gaetz for the nation’s top law enforcement post has sparked confusion on Capitol Hill over whether the ethics panel should release its report after Gaetz abruptly resigned from his post in Florida, effectively halting the investigation.
Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest said after a lengthy closed-door meeting that “the committee has not reached an agreement on the publication of the report.”
The guest, a Republican from Mississippi, told reporters the panel would meet again but did not provide details.
Shortly thereafter, Wild vehemently disputed Guest’s statement to a group of reporters, calling it “inaccurate.”
“I don’t want the American public or anyone else to think that Mr. Guest’s characterization of what happened today will be any kind of indication that the committee has reached unanimity or consensus on this issue,” Wild said.
Committee inquiry from 2021
Gaetz, who denies all allegations, reported to the commission probe as of April 2021. The Department of Justice was also investigating a former congressman for sex trafficking, but was Never accused.
She reported to ABC News on Wednesday that it obtained financial records reviewed by the Ethics Commission that showed Gaetz paid two women who later served as witnesses in both the Department of Ethics and Department of Justice investigations about $10,000 between 2017 and 2019.
Attorney for one woman who testified before the committee he told NBC News on Friday that his client witnessed Gaetz having sex with a minor at a house party in Orlando.
House Democrats have called on the ethics panel to release the report. Democratic Reps. Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Sean Casten of Illinois introduced resolutions in the House overdue Wednesday to force the panel to release its findings.
Several Democrats wrote to Guest and Wild on Tuesday that “there is precedent for the House and Senate ethics committees to continue investigations and release findings after a member of the Legislature resigns amid a scandal.”
“Given the seriousness of the allegations against Representative Gaetz, withholding the findings of your investigation could jeopardize the ability of the Senate to provide fully informed, constitutionally required advice and consent on this nomination,” the lawmakers wrote in their nomination. letter chaired by Casten and signed by dozens of others.
The nomination for U.S. attorney general requires review by the Senate Judiciary Committee and a favorable vote in the Senate. Republicans will take control of the chamber in January.
Vance accompanies Gaetz to meetings
On the other side of the Capitol, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance took Gaetz to private meetings with Senate Republicans.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued a statement Wednesday morning after a “very good meeting” with Gaetz.
“This trial will not be rubber stamped or driven by a lynch mob,” the South Carolina Republican said. “My record is clear. I tend to defer presidential cabinet decisions unless the evidence points to disqualification. “I fear that the process surrounding Gaetz’s nomination will degenerate into an angry mob and that unverified allegations will be treated as if they were true.”
A half-hour before the meeting with Vance and Gaetz, GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told reporters the House should “follow the rules” about publishing Gaetz’s ethics findings.
“Now I don’t know exactly what the House rules are. I was told that if a member resigns, the report is not made public, but I have also read that there are exceptions to this rule. So the brief answer is: I don’t know,” said Kennedy, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“That said, the Judiciary Committee staff actually vets all of our nominees, and in my experience in Washington, this place leaks like a wet paper bag,” Kennedy continued. “So I assume that anything that comes out there will probably be made public. I don’t see it coming, but I won’t pale from surprise if it happens.
Last updated: 18:39, November 20, 2024
