The House of Representatives cast their votes to prevent the disclosure of an ethics report scrutinizing the behavior of former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, who was briefly considered for the position of attorney general in the forthcoming Trump Administration.
Republicans in the House successfully rejected two attempts initiated by Democrats to publicly unveil the findings of a potentially damaging investigation carried out by the House Ethics Committee regarding the former congressman, who has faced longstanding allegations of sexual misconduct and substance abuse—claims that Gaetz has persistently refuted.
Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) led the initial attempt, proposing a resolution that aimed to make the “latest draft of its report and a summary of its conclusions accessible to the public.” The vote fell primarily along party lines against the proposal, with only Rep. Tom McClintock, a Republican, joining the Democrats in support.
Following the defeat of the resolution, some members of Congress expressed their discontent by booing, as reported by Roll Call. In a statement following the vote, Casten criticized his fellow lawmakers for opting to take “the easy path.”
“The House opted to conceal these allegations and established an unfortunate standard that suggests if you face scrutiny, quitting Congress can make your issues disappear,” stated Casten.
Alongside this, the House also dismissed another resolution proposed by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), which sought to mandate the retention of all records and findings from the investigation, ultimately returning it to the Ethics Committee.
Cohen’s office, in its own statement, labeled this action as a “parliamentary tactic aimed at obstructing the disclosure” of the report. The representative from Tennessee vowed to keep pursuing methods to make the document public.
The votes occurred mere hours after the House Ethics Committee decided to keep the report confidential, at least for the time being. The committee, comprising five Republicans and five Democrats, has been stalemated on this issue for several weeks.
Gaetz stepped down from his role in the House of Representatives shortly after Trump announced his nomination. His resignation came just days before the Ethics Committee was scheduled to vote on whether to release the potentially damaging report.
Despite calls for the committee to make the full report public from both Democratic and Republican senators, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) opposed any release, claiming it would create a “dreadful precedent.”
The Ethics Committee began its investigation into Gaetz’s actions in 2021 but paused the inquiry while the Florida representative was under investigation by the Justice Department for possible sex trafficking charges.
Ultimately, the Justice Department decided not to pursue charges against Gaetz, leading the House to reopen its investigation in 2023.
The specifics of the report remain confidential, but some witnesses who testified before the committee have since disclosed certain insights about the direction of the investigation.
In November, a Florida attorney informed ABC News that he represented two women who had testified before the Ethics Committee. These women reportedly indicated to the committee that Gaetz compensated them for sexual encounters through Venmo. One woman claimed to have witnessed Gaetz engaging in sexual relations with a 17-year-old, although she also noted that the former congressman ended his involvement with her upon realizing she was a minor.
Gaetz has consistently denied any misconduct but also withdrew his name from consideration for the prominent position at the Justice Department.
