Lawmakers on the House Ethics Committee could not reach agreement Wednesday on whether to release their report on embattled former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to become attorney general.
After meeting for roughly two hours, lawmakers emerged without saying much except they failed to agree on releasing the report. There are five Republicans and five Democrats on the committee.
“There was no agreement by the committee to release the report,” Committee Chair Michael Guest, Mississippi Republican, told reporters.
The committee’s top-ranking Democrat, Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, took issue with Mr. Guest’s characterization of the meeting. She told reporters that his comments “betrayed” the panel’s secretive process, and that the committee would again meet on Dec. 5 to further deliberate the matter.
“There was no consensus on this issue,” she said.
The report centers around the Ethics Committee’s long-running probe regarding accusations against Mr. Gaetz of sexual relations with a minor, illicit drug use and obstructing a federal investigation. It gained newfound importance since he was tapped by Mr. Trump to lead the Justice Department.
SEE ALSO: House Democrat pushes vote to release Gaetz ethics report
The contents of the report are shrouded in secrecy. Lawmakers leaving the meeting said little, if anything, about what happened behind closed doors.
Mr. Gaetz’s resignation from Congress last week effectively ended the panel’s investigation and impetus to release the report. But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have mounted a pressure campaign to release it to the Senate ahead of confirmation hearings.
The latest push to unearth the committee’s findings came from Rep. Sean Casten, Illinois Democrat, while the 10-member panel was still deliberating. He threatened to introduce a privileged resolution that would force lawmakers to vote on whether to release the report, pending whether the panel decided to release the record.
“The allegations against Matt Gaetz are serious. They are credible. The House Ethics Committee has spent years conducting a thorough investigation to get to the bottom of it,” Mr. Casten said in a statement. “This information must be made available for the Senate to provide its constitutionally required advice and consent.”
Mr. Casten’s office confirmed to The Washington Times that following the panel’s decision, the lawmaker would tee up his privileged resolution Wednesday night. Doing so would give House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, two legislative days to decide whether to bring his resolution to the House floor.
Lawmakers are set to leave Washington on Thursday, meaning a floor vote could be postponed until early December.
SEE ALSO: Senate Dems call on FBI to release Gaetz file
Other Republicans, including Mr. Johnson, contended that because Mr. Gaetz was no longer a member of Congress, the panel no longer had jurisdiction over him and shouldn’t release the report.
There are instances where the panel has previously released a report after a lawmaker has resigned.
Nearly 100 House Democrats cited the cases of former Rep. Eric Massa and ex-Sen. John Ensign, where the panel released reports on them after their resignations. There are also the cases of ex-lawmakers Bill Boner and Buz Lukens, whose ethics reports were released following their resignations from the House in the 1980s.
Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin, Illinois Democrat, requested that FBI Director Chris Wray provide the complete evidentiary file, including documents memorializing interviews, on Mr. Gaetz surrounding its investigation into his alleged sex trafficking of minors. His letter was signed by nine other Democratic senators on Wednesday.
“The grave public allegations against Mr. Gaetz speak directly to his fitness to serve as the chief law enforcement officer for the federal government,” the lawmakers wrote. “The unanswered questions regarding Mr. Gaetz’s alleged conduct are particularly significant given that his associate, Joel Greenberg, pleaded guilty to the sex trafficking charge for which Mr. Gaetz was also investigated.”
The House Ethics Committee first began its investigation into Mr. Gaetz in 2021, but deferred to the Justice Department until last year, when the department opted to not charge him.
Despite heavy scrutiny, Mr. Trump said has no plans to back down from his nomination of Mr. Gaetz.
Meanwhile, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance accompanied Mr. Gaetz to meet with Republican Senators throughout the day on Wednesday to try and lessen any concerns that lawmakers may have about Mr. Trump’s pick.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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