In a twist, key House panel votes to release Matt Gaetz ethics report

CNN
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The House Ethics Committee voted in secret earlier this month to release its report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s conduct before the end of this Congress, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter.

The report is now expected to be released after the House’s last day of voting this year, as lawmakers leave Washington for the holidays, these sources said.

The vote, which has not previously been reported, represents a sharp reversal for the panel after it 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 issue, and it’s unclear whether the committee will change course again now that it has voted.

When the committee voted last month to shelve the report, Gaetz was President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general. Since then, Gaetz withdrew from consideration for the Senate confirmation post, though he maintains frosty relations with many in his party and remains active in GOP politics.

It is extremely rare for an ethics report to be released after a member has left Congress, although it has happened on a few occasions in the past. The committee revisited the issue behind closed doors earlier this month after a feud over the report became public before Thanksgiving.

The ethics committee’s report concludes a year-long investigation into numerous allegations against Gaetz, including whether he engaged in sexual misconduct, used illegal drugs, “shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused government identification information, converted campaign funds for personal use, and/or accepted bribery, improper gratuity, or impermissible gifts,” according to a notice from the panel last summer.

Gaetz has strongly 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 stressed that he was “COMPLETELY DISAPPOINTED” by a separate investigation by the Justice Department. And he said he “NEVER had sexual contact with anyone under 18” — an allegation addressed in the House Ethics report, CNN previously reported.

“My 30s was an era of working very hard – and playing hard too. It’s embarrassing, but not criminal, that I probably partied, womanised, drank and smoked more than I should have done earlier in life. I live another life now.”

Lawyer describes client’s testimony in House Ethics Committee’s investigation of Gaetz

Speaker Mike Johnson has said he does not believe the report should be released since Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress after he abruptly resigned when Trump announced him as his first pick for attorney general. Johnson has acknowledged that he has no role in the operation of the panel, which has traditionally operated separately from management. Many lawmakers believed that Gaetz resigned to try to bury the investigation.

Gaetz, who was re-elected to the seat last month before his resignation, has said he has no plans to return to Congress next year.

“I will still be in the game, but it will be from a new seat. I have no intention of attending the 119th Congress,” he told Charlie Kirk an interview last month.

“I’m going to fight for President Trump. I’m going to do what he asks of me, as I’ve always done. But I think eight years is probably enough time in the United States Congress,” he said.

He also recently announced that he will join 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.