WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday blocked Democrats’ efforts to launch the long-awaited ethics report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz, pushing the destiny of any decision to the years-long investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct into additional uncertainty.
The practically party-line votes got here after Democrats pushed for the outcomes to be launched, even because the Florida Republican left Congress and withdrew from President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination for lawyer basic.
Republicans have argued that any congressional investigation into Gaetz ended together with his resignation from the House. Speaker Mike Johnson additionally requested that the fee not launch its report, saying it will be a horrible precedent to set.
While ethics studies have been launched earlier than after a member’s resignation, that is extraordinarily uncommon.
Shortly earlier than the votes, Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., who launched one of many payments to pressure the discharge, mentioned that if Republicans refused the discharge, they might “achieve brushing apart credible allegations of sexual misconduct underneath the carpet.” Gaetz has repeatedly denied the claims.
The ethics committee met final Thursday to debate the Gaetz report however made no selections, saying in a quick assertion that the matter was nonetheless underneath dialogue. It is unclear now whether or not the doc will ever see the sunshine of day as lawmakers have simply weeks left earlier than the beginning of a brand new session of Congress.
It’s the fruits of weeks of stress on the 5 Republicans and 5 Democrats on the ethics committee, who work principally in secret as they examine allegations of misconduct towards lawmakers.
The standing of the investigation into Gaetz turned an open query final month when he abruptly resigned from Congress after Trump’s announcement that he wished his ally in authorities. It is normal observe for the fee to conclude investigations when members of Congress depart, however the circumstances surrounding Gaetz had been uncommon, given his potential position within the new administration.
Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., the committee chairman, mentioned Wednesday that there is no such thing as a longer the identical urgency to launch the report on condition that Gaetz has left Congress and stepped apart as Trump’s selection to guide the Department of Justice.
“I’ve been agency on this level. He is now not a member. He will now not be confirmed by the Senate as a result of he has withdrawn his nomination for lawyer basic,” Guest mentioned.
The Gaetz report additionally triggered stress amongst lawmakers on the bipartisan committee. Pennsylvania Rep. Susan Wild, the highest Democrat on the committee, publicly admonished Guest final month for incorrectly describing an earlier assembly with the press.
Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing and mentioned final yr that the separate Justice Department investigation towards him into intercourse trafficking allegations involving underage women ended with out federal costs.
His former political ally Joel Greenberg, a fellow Republican who served as a tax collector in Florida’s Seminole County, admitted as a part of a plea cope with prosecutors in 2021 to paying ladies and an underage lady for intercourse with him and different males. The males weren’t recognized in court docket paperwork when he pleaded responsible. Greenberg was sentenced in late 2022 to 11 years in jail.
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