Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., could be done with Congress. But Congress is not done with him. And as President-elect Trump’s pick to serve as Attorney General, Gaetz apparently isn’t done with Congress either.
Gaetz negotiated with Trump to become Attorney General on a flight to Florida, just hours after the incoming president spoke to House Republicans in Washington last week. Then Trump picked Gaetz and the Florida Republican resigned.
What was not known at the time was that the House Ethics Committee was about to release a report investigating allegations of “sexual misconduct” and “illicit drug use” by Gaetz. Gaetz stopped cooperating with the House investigation over the summer. The FBI investigated Gaetz for years, but dropped the investigation in February.
The Ethics Committee canceled a meeting scheduled Friday at which it would have likely released information about its investigation into Gaetz. But since Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress, the committee supposedly has no power to act.
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Now that Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., has been named President-elect Trump’s unlikely pick for Attorney General, an obvious question arises: What will become of the Ethics Committee’s report on the congressman’s alleged wrongdoing? (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., said this Wednesday when asked about the Gaetz investigation, but before the Florida Republican resigned.
“Once the investigation is complete, a report will be issued, assuming that at that time Mr. Gaetz is still a member of Congress. If Mr. Gaetz were to resign because he is taking a position in the administration as Attorney General.” Ethics Committee loses jurisdiction at that time. Once we lose jurisdiction, a report will not be issued. That’s not unique to this case,” Guest said.
Other members of the Ethics Committee tried to avoid the discussion about Gaetz.
“I won’t comment on that. I’m on the Ethics Committee, so I’ll stay away from that,” said Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla.
“Can you still publish the report?” asked ABC’s Rachel Scott.
“No. Of course I can’t,” Rutherford replied, turning to Scott.
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That’s generally how the House Ethics Committee acts when it comes to pending investigations involving former members.
But it’s not a hard and fast rule.
Fox discovered that the Ethics Committee released information about its investigation into possible influence peddling by the late Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., after his death in 2010.
The House Ethics Committee has reportedly released its findings on former Reps. John Murtha, D-Pa., and Bill Boner, D-Tennessee, following their departure from office. (Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images | CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)
The Ethics Committee also released a 699-page report on former Rep. Bill Boner, D-Tenn., after he left office in 1987. The committee found that Boner used campaign funds to travel to Hong Kong and may have used his position to influence. a defense contractor.
The Ethics Committee investigated former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., after he was caught sending inappropriate messages to House pages in 2006. Foley abruptly resigned from the House. But the ethics panel brought together a series of bipartisan congressional leaders to testify behind closed doors to determine what they might have known about Foley’s activities.
That said, there is a way in plenary to dismiss an Ethics Committee report.
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There is a mechanism called a “House privilege question.” A lawmaker could take the floor under this procedure, arguing that keeping Gaetz’s ethics report secret impugns the dignity and integrity of the House. The House would be required to vote on such a motion. If successful in the courtroom, the ethics panel could be forced to publish the report.
This server asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., if Democrats could try to dislodge the Gaetz report from the Ethics Committee.
Pergram: “Could you imagine a scenario in which Democrats somehow try to unseat this ethics report through a parliamentary maneuver?”
I asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., if his party planned to find a way to dislodge the Gaetz report from the Ethics Committee. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Jeffries: “The Ethics Committee is an incredibly bipartisan committee. It’s the only committee in Congress that is evenly divided. And it has a long history of having principled people on it. And right now I defer to whatever course they decide to take. “And I hope they take a course that is bipartisan.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee will review Gaetz’s credentials, conduct background checks and ultimately hold a confirmation hearing before putting the nomination to a vote. It could also block the nomination.
Senate Judiciary and Majority Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., formally asked the House Ethics Committee to submit the report as it reviews Gaetz’s suitability for the position.
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“The sequence and timing of Mr. Gaetz’s resignation from the House raises serious questions about the content of the House Ethics Committee report,” Durbin said. “This information could be relevant to the issue of Mr. Gaetz’s confirmation as the next Attorney General of the United States and our constitutional responsibility to advise and consent.”
Democrats weren’t the only ones trying to bring the report to light.
“I believe there should be no limitations on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation, including what the House Ethics Committee produces,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, appears eager to uncover the Gaetz report’s conclusions, saying there should be “no limitations” on what the Senate Judiciary Committee can investigate. (Reuters)
Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., serves on the Ethics Committee. He hinted that the panel should consider sending the report to the Senate.
“I think the Senate certainly had the right to request it. I can’t speak to our internal deliberations. But I think the information they’ve requested is entirely reasonable,” Ivey said. “In fact, I think it’s essential that they get that kind of information before making a decision.”
On Friday, Johnson said he “does not control the Ethics Committee.”
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But Johnson went further than before in his views on the release of the report.
“We should stick to tradition of not releasing a report on a former House member because it would open a dangerous Pandora’s box,” Johnson said.
Johnson reaffirmed that during an appearance on Fox News on Sunday when asked about the release of the report.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, warned against releasing the Ethics Committee’s findings, citing precedent and the potential opening of a “dangerous Pandora’s box.” (Getty Images)
“I think this would be a violation of protocol that could be dangerous for us in the future,” the spokesperson said.
It is possible that the Senate Judiciary Committee could subpoena the Ethics Committee report. And as suggested above, there is a way to dislodge the panel’s report through a House vote. Such a scenario would put many Republicans in a difficult situation. They may fear that voting to release the report will put them on the wrong side of incoming President Trump. Not to mention the future Attorney General.
But Gaetz is not liked by his former House colleagues. In fact, some Republicans may have more disdain for the former Florida congressman than Democrats. That’s partly because it was Gaetz who single-handedly sparked a vote last year to impeach former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. That maneuver plunged the House into three weeks of chaos.
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Gaetz is no longer a member of the House. But that doesn’t matter. The fight over the ethics report is just beginning. And that’s causing as much chaos as if Gaetz was still a member.
