WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee is expected to release its long-awaited report to former Rep. Matt Gaetz on Monday, ending a yearslong investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct with minors and use of illegal drugs while the Florida Republican was in office. the power was.
The expected release comes after at least one Republican joined all five Democrats on the panel in a secret ballot earlier this month to release the report on their former colleague, despite initial opposition from Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, to publishing findings about a former colleague. member of Congress.
Although ethics reports have previously been released following a member’s resignation, this is extremely rare. Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and said last week that as a former member of the House of Representatives he would have “no opportunity to debate or refute the findings.”
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On Monday, Gaetz filed a lawsuit to block the report’s release, saying it contains “untruthful and defamatory information” that would significantly harm his “standing and reputation in the community.” Gaetz’s complaint states that he is no longer under the committee’s jurisdiction since resigning from Congress.
“The Committee’s position that it may nevertheless publish potentially defamatory findings about a private citizen over which it does not claim jurisdiction represents an unprecedented expansion of Congress’s power that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and provides well-established procedural protections,” Gaetz’s attorneys wrote in their request for a temporary curtailment. order.
The often secretive, bipartisan panel has been investigating claims against Gaetz since 2021. However, his work became more urgent last month when President-elect Donald Trump chose Gaetz as his nominee for attorney general. Gaetz resigned from Congress that same day, leaving him outside the ethics committee’s jurisdiction.
But Democrats had pushed to make the report public even after Gaetz was out of office and withdrew as Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department. A vote in the House of Representatives this month to force publication of the report failed; all but one Republican voted against it.
___ Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.
