The House Ethics Committee recently made a significant decision to release the long-awaited ethics report concerning former Rep. Matt Gaetz. This move raises the possibility that the allegations against the Florida Republican, who was once considered President-elect Donald Trump's top choice for attorney general, could soon be made public.
The bipartisan committee, consisting of five Republicans and five Democrats, voted in secret earlier this month to release the report. This decision marks a notable shift from their previous stance, where they had voted along party lines not to disclose the findings of their nearly four-year investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct with minors and illicit drug use during Gaetz's time in office.
Despite Gaetz no longer being in Congress and having withdrawn as Trump's nominee for the Justice Department, Democrats pushed for the report's release. However, a recent attempt to force the report's publication on the House floor failed, with the majority of Republicans voting against it.
In response to the committee's decision, Gaetz took to social media to once again deny any wrongdoing. He criticized the timing of the report's release, stating that as a former member of Congress, he would have no opportunity to defend himself against the allegations.
While some Republicans have argued that any congressional investigation into Gaetz should have ended upon his resignation from the House, Speaker Mike Johnson requested that the committee refrain from publishing the report, citing concerns about setting a negative precedent.
It is worth noting that while ethics reports have been released after a member's resignation in the past, such occurrences are exceedingly rare. Gaetz has consistently maintained his innocence, pointing to the Justice Department's conclusion of its separate investigation into sex trafficking allegations against him without filing federal charges.
Former political associate Joel Greenberg, who previously served as the tax collector in Florida's Seminole County, admitted as part of a plea deal in 2021 to paying women and an underage girl for sexual activities involving himself and other men. Greenberg was sentenced to 11 years in prison in late 2022.
