By FARNOUSH AMIRI, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee is expected to release its long-awaited report Monday into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, ending a yearslong investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct with minors and use of illicit drugs while the Florida Republican was in office.
The anticipated release comes after at least one Republican joined all five Democrats on the panel earlier this month in a secret vote to release the report about their former colleague despite initial opposition from GOP lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, to publishing findings about a former member of Congress.
While ethics reports have previously been released after a member’s resignation, it is extremely rare. Gaetz has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing, saying last week that he would have “no opportunity to debate or rebut” the findings as a former member of the House.
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On Monday, Gaetz filed a lawsuit seeking to block the report’s release, saying it contains “untruthful and defamatory information” that would “significantly damage” his “standing and reputation in the community.” Gaetz’s complaint argues he’s no longer under the committee’s jurisdiction since he resigned from Congress.
“The Committee’s position that it may nonetheless publish potentially defamatory findings about a private citizen over whom it claims no jurisdiction represents an unprecedented expansion of Congressional power that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections,” Gaetz’s lawyers wrote in their request for a temporary restraining order.
The often secretive, bipartisan panel has investigated claims against Gaetz since 2021. However, its work became more urgent last month when President-elect Donald Trump picked Gaetz as his attorney general nominee. Gaetz resigned from Congress that same day, putting him outside the purview of the Ethics Committee’s jurisdiction.
But Democrats had pressed to make the report public even after Gaetz was no longer a member and had withdrawn as Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department. A vote on the House floor this month to force the report’s release failed; all but one Republican voted against it.
Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.
