WASHINGTON — The top Democrat on the House Ethics Committee said Monday that the panel’s report on former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, President Donald Trump’s pick as attorney general, should be made public.
The bipartisan Ethics Commission has investigated Florida-based Gaetz on and off since 2021, looking into allegations of sexual misconduct involving a 17-year-old girl, illegal drug use and accepting inappropriate gifts. But the committee lost jurisdiction over Gaetz when he resigned from the House of Representatives on Thursday and has not released any public report on its investigation.
Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., the ranking member of the ethics committee, said the report should be released, a sentiment echoed by another committee member, Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md.
“It absolutely needs to be made public. And, well, it certainly should be released to the Senate, and I think it should be released to the public, as we have done in the past with many other investigative reports,” Wild told reporters, adding: “ There is precedent for releasing even after a member has resigned.”
The Ethics Commission plans to meet Wednesday to discuss the report, a source familiar with the meeting confirmed earlier Monday.
The details of the report have not been made public. Several Republican senators, who will consider Gaetz’s nomination once it is formalized next year, have said they want details about the ethics investigation — either through access to the report itself or through an FBI background check on Gaetz.
On Friday, an attorney said his client had testified privately before the Ethics Commission that she personally witnessed Gaetz having sex with a minor. Gaetz, 42, has denied all allegations.
Wild said she was “waiting to see what… the other members of the committee will do before taking further action.”
The Ethics Commission was scheduled to discuss the report Friday at its regular meeting, which was postponed after Gaetz resigned. CNN first reported that the committee will now meet on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the commission declined to comment.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who opposes releasing the Gaetz report, told reporters Friday that he would “strongly request” that the panel not make it public because Gaetz is now a former member of Congress and the Ethics Committee only has jurisdiction over sitting members.
However, there is precedent for releasing ethics reports after or on the same day a lawmaker resigns from Congress. Two months after Rep. Bill Boner, D-Tenn., resigned in 1987, the Ethics Commission issued an initial staff report detailing its investigation. And on the day that Rep. Buz Lukens, R-Ohio, resigned from the House of Representatives in 1990, the committee delivered its report to him.
Speaking to reporters Monday evening, Johnson defended his previous comments and clarified that he did not tell committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., or the committee what to do.
“I haven’t dictated anything to the Ethics Committee. It’s not my job to do that; I’ve been very clear,” Johnson said when asked by NBC News. “I’m just responding to the questions that every single media outlet in America is asking me: Do I think a report, if it exists, should be released? And the answer is no, because we have a rule about that.”
Guest appeared to confirm Johnson’s story Monday, saying Johnson had contacted him to let him know he had told the media he didn’t think the report should be released. But, Guest said, “Mike didn’t try to make a trade-off one way or the other. He didn’t try to influence the committee. He only contacted me as a courtesy because he made a comment to the press.”
Guest confirmed that he has read the Gaetz report and said other members have had access to review it, but that he would not discuss details of the document nor whether the committee will vote on Wednesday to release it.
When told Monday that Ivey, the Maryland Democrat, had called Johnson’s comments on the Gaetz report inappropriate, Johnson responded: “Glenn Ivey has his opinions.”
A day earlier, Johnson said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he “didn’t discuss a word about the ethics report” with Trump, even though he spent time with him in Washington at Mar-a-Lago in recent days. , his home in Florida, and at a UFC event at Madison Square Garden in New York.
A number of Republican senators, including some who will have the opportunity to question Gaetz at a Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, have said they want to see the House report.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that senators “absolutely” should have access to the report.
“I believe the Senate should have access to that now. … That should certainly be part of our decision-making,” said Mullin, who served in the House of Representatives with Gaetz and has publicly criticized his character.
“Once again I return to Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution. The Senate must advise and consent to these individuals,” Mullin added. “In that process, we will give Matt Gaetz the same opportunities as all of President Trump’s nominees.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
