Republicans sink attempts to force release of Matt Gaetz ethics report

Democrats wanted sexual misconduct report published even though Gaetz left Congress and withdrew as Trump’s attorney general pick

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Matt Gaetz has faced sexual misconduct allegations, but denied any wrongdoing. File photo: AP

Published: 7:57am, 6 Dec 2024Updated: 10:47am, 6 Dec 2024

The House shut down Democrats’ efforts Thursday to release the long-awaited ethics report into former congressman Matt Gaetz, pushing the fate of any resolution to the years-long investigation of sexual misconduct allegations into further uncertainty.

The nearly party-line votes came after Democrats had been pressing for the findings to be published even though the Florida Republican left Congress and withdrew as US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general. California congressman Tom McClintock was the sole Republican to support the effort.

Most Republicans have argued that any congressional investigation into Gaetz ended when he resigned from the House. Speaker Mike Johnson also requested that the committee not publish its report, saying it would be a terrible precedent to set.

While ethics reports have previously been released after a member’s resignation, it is extremely rare.

Matt Gaetz has left Congress and stepped aside as Donald Trump’s choice to head the Justice Department. File photo: TNS

Just before the votes took place, Illinois congressman Sean Casten, who introduced one of the bills to force the release, said if Republicans reject the release, they will have “succeeded in sweeping credible allegations of sexual misconduct under the rug”. Gaetz has repeatedly denied the claims.