The House Ethics Committee could meet Wednesday to discuss an investigation into allegations against former Rep. Matt Gaetz, a week after President-elect Donald Trump nominated him to be the next attorney general.
The meeting came after a woman reportedly told the Ethics Committee that she had a sexual relationship with Gates when she was 17, according to ABC News.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) previously interviewed the woman, now in her 20s, as part of a long-running investigation into Gaetz related to sex trafficking and obstruction of justice charges, the report said.
The House Ethics Committee is investigating the accusations and was scheduled to vote last Friday on whether to release the committee's report to Gaetz. However, the meeting did not take place as Gaetz announced his immediate resignation from Congress just two days earlier.
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matt gates (Andrew Caballero Reynolds/File)
Rep. Michael Guest (R-Mississippi), chairman of the House Ethics Committee, told reporters after Gaetz's nomination that the committee would lose jurisdiction over the Florida Republican if he left Congress. he said.
“If Mr. Gates were to resign because he is pro-administration as attorney general, at that point the Ethics Commission would no longer have jurisdiction,” Guest said before news of Gates' resignation broke. “If you lose jurisdiction, no reports will be issued. This is not unique to this case.”
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After Gaetz resigned from Congress, officials debated whether to release the findings ahead of Gaetz's confirmation hearing.
Several Republicans, including several Republican senators key to his confirmation decision, have said the report should be made public if Gates goes through the attorney general's review process.
Congressman Michael Guest (Andrew Harnik/File)
A spokesperson for Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he supports making the report publicly available.
“There is long-standing precedent in both the House and the Senate of releasing ethics investigation materials after a member resigns,” said Josh Sorbet. “A former member of Congress should not be able to recuse himself from an ethics investigation involving allegations of serious misconduct, especially if he is nominated to serve as our nation's highest law enforcement official.”
A House Republican told Politico on condition of anonymity that Gates was resigning from Congress because he was “obstructing an ethics investigation that will be revealed within a week.”
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But at a press conference, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said Gaetz had informed him that he had abruptly resigned to speed up the process of filling the House seat in a special election.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (Alison Robert/Pool/File via AP)
The House Ethics Committee's investigation into Gaetz, which began in 2021, stems from accusations of illegal drug use and sex with a minor. The Justice Department, which named Gates in charge, ultimately did not press charges, and Gates has consistently denied all wrongdoing.
Prime Minister Johnson said he did not think the report should be made public.
“The Speaker of the House is not involved in those things. I am responding to media reports that a report on former members of the House of Representatives was currently scheduled to be released in some draft stage. I don't believe in that.' That's the right thing to do,'' the Speaker said.
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“That would open up Pandora's box, and I don't think that's healthy for the facility. That's my position.”
FOX News' Daniel Scully contributed to this report.
