On December 18, the House Ethics Committee announced that former Senator Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) ethics report is set to be released after a secret vote on December 5. This comes as a shock, with it drawing a stark reversal from the panel’s previous vote along party lines in late November to not release the results of the investigation. Accordingly, sources state that this re-vote indicates that some Republicans “ultimately decided to side with Democrats on the matter,” considering the panel has 10 members being split evenly between Republicans and Democrats.
The report will likely be released in the coming days, after the final votes of the 118th Congress. This comes with pressures mounting for congressional leaders to unveil a “lengthy stopgap measure” to keep government funding into the spring and avoid a government shutdown as the deadline on Dec. 20 approaches.
Preceding this decision from the Ethics committee, Gaetz abruptly resigned from his seat in Congress following President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial nomination of Gaetz as attorney general on Nov. 14. Despite the mixed reactions, Trump remained loyal to his pick, describing Gaetz as the “Champion for the Constitution and the Rule of Law.” However, only seven days later on Nov. 21, Gaetz announced his withdrawal from candidacy and commented, saying: “It is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance transition.”
Despite the many things that occurred within the between his nomination and eventual withdrawal that resulted in his stepping down, the most pressing matter seemed to be Gaetz’s undisclosed ethics report that is presumed to include extensive information on his allegations of sexual misconduct and other various crimes. After his nomination, many Democrats pushed for the release of the report but were shut down by Republicans and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) who deemed it “would be a terrible precedent to set.”
According to a press release statement offered by the Ethics Committee this past June, a review of Gaetz was first initiated back in 2021 based on allegations including:
- Sexual misconduct (including abuse and assault)
- Illicit drug use
- Shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor
- Misused state identification records
- Converted campaign funds to personal use and/or accepted a bribe
- Improper gratuity
- Dispensement of special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship
- Sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct
Additionally, the Committee detailed how they have “spoken with more than a dozen witnesses, issued 25 subpoenas, and reviewed thousands of pages of documents in the matter.” The panel has also clearly stated that the case “merits continued review,” and they have even identified “additional allegations that merit review” regarding Gaetz.
Still, Gaetz has vigorously denied all of the allegations and claims the investigation to be a “witch hunt.” In a post on X on December 18 in response to news outlets reporting on the announcement, Gaetz emphatically declared himself to be “FULLY EXONERATED” and that he has “NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18.” He ended the post with a strong stance on his innocence: “It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now.”
While Gaetz has stated that he “does not intend to join the 119th Congress” in an interview with conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, Gaetz remains in active relationships with many of his party members and is committed to GOP politics within the Trump presidency. As he says, he is “still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch.”
Image Source: The New Yorker
Indresh Chandel