Damning Gaetz Report Could Be Made Public Despite His Resignation From Congress—Threatening AG Chances

14 Nov 2024 by Sara Dorn · Forbes

Topline

Senators on Thursday demanded access to a potentially damning House Ethics Committee report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., despite his resignation from Congress after President-elect Donald Trump announced him Wednesday as his pick for attorney general—information that could hurt Gaetz’s chances of being confirmed for the role.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) at the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 16, 2024 in ... [+] Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)Getty Images

Key Facts

The committee was set to vote Friday on releasing a “highly damaging” report into allegations of misconduct against Gaetz, including whether he engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, gave special privileges and favors to friends and obstructed a government investigation into his conduct, Punchbowl reported Wednesday, shortly after Trump announced him as his pick for AG, citing anonymous sources.

Gaetz’s abrupt resignation from Congress—made official Thursday—could complicate the process, since the committee does not have jurisdiction over former members of Congress.

Senators, including Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who chairs the Judiciary Committee that will hold a preliminary vote whether to approve Gaetz as AG, and John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Thursday senators should have access to the report as part of the vetting process, despite his resignation.

Other senators have said they expect the House Ethics Committee’s findings into Gaetz to be released despite his resignation from Congress—Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told NBC News she is “confident” the information “will eventually be brought out,” and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said “it’s probably going to come to light one way or the other.”

The Ethics Committee report could complicate Gaetz’s already seemingly tough prospects of being confirmed by the Senate—at least five senators have publicly expressed doubts about confirming him as AG and others expressed shock at Trump’s choice.

Gaetz, who has repeatedly denied the accusations against him, was also the subject of a Justice Department probe into whether he paid a minor to travel across state lines for sex, but the agency declined to bring charges against him, Gaetz’s office said last year.

Contra

House Ethics Committee Chair Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., has suggested repeatedly since Gaetz was nominated that the committee would keep the report confidential and end its probe into Gaetz, however. “What happens in Ethics is confidential. We’re going to maintain that confidentiality,” he told reporters Thursday, according to Politico.

Surprising Fact

The House Ethics Committee in 1987 released a report into former Rep. Bill Boner, D-Tenn., after he resigned to become mayor of Nashville, Punchbowl reported Friday. The committee stated in the report that its “responsibility . . . to fully inform the public” of its finding into Boner’s relationship with a government contractor outweighed “the general policy against issuing reports” regarding former members of Congress.

Key Background

Gaetz—a controversial House member and staunch Trump loyalist who led the effort to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., last year—became the subject of a DOJ probe in 2021 as part of an investigation into his one-time friend and former Florida official Joel Greenberg. Greenberg, who pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a minor in May 2021, accused Gaetz of paying a 17-year-old girl to travel across state lines for sex. The investigation was reportedly closed due to credibility issues with Greenberg and Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend, who also served as a witness in the case, the Washington Post previously reported.

Tangent

The Senate Judiciary Committee will vet Gaetz and vote whether to send the nomination to the Senate, where he needs approval from the majority to officially be confirmed. Assuming all Democrats vote against Gaetz, he can afford to lose just four votes under Republicans’ 53-47 majority, numbers that could be complicated by the potential appointment of Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., as Trump’s Secretary of State and Sen. JD Vance’s, R-Ohio, election as vice president.