Should Matt Gaetz attend a hearing next year with the Senate Judiciary Committee on U.S. Attorney General, he is expected to face tough questions about a House Ethics Committee investigation into his alleged conduct — including from Republicans in the United States. Senate.
The Florida lawmaker has been the subject of a House ethics investigation following allegations of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use. The Justice Department closed its investigation into sex trafficking and obstruction of justice last year without charges against Gaetz. The former congressman has denied any wrongdoing related to either investigation. After Trump announced Gaetz as his pick for U.S. attorney general on Wednesday, the Florida Republican abruptly resigned from the House of Representatives, a move that ends the committee’s jurisdiction and typically the release of any report would prevent.
Punchbowl News reported earlier this week that the House committee was preparing for a vote on Friday on whether to release that report. Then House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., said the committee had postponed, not canceled, its meeting to discuss the report.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee urged Guest to release the findings. And some Republicans on the Judiciary Committee have said they are interested, too — including Sen. John Cornyn, who told ABC News he “absolutely” wants to see the ethics report.
“I don’t think there should be any restrictions on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation, including what the House Ethics Committee produced,” Cornyn said.
Other Republicans not on the Judiciary Committee have also said the findings are relevant. Newly elected Sen. John Curtis of Utah said he believes the report “would be very relevant” and that he would “absolutely” like to see it, NBC News reported.
However, Gast said Thursday that the Ethics Committee would not make the report public and declined to say whether it would share the report with the Senate Judiciary Committee. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Friday morning that he was “strongly” urging the committee not to release the report, adding that it would be “a terrible precedent to set.”
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
