Rep. Sean Kasten (D-Ill.) has asked President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general nominee, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Ill.), on whether to release the Ethics Commission's report. , said he would soon attempt a vote in front of the entire House of Representatives. Florida).
After the House Ethics Committee split on Wednesday on whether to release the report, Kasten said he would use a privilege resolution to require a floor vote on releasing the report. A vote would be required within two days of Kasten's introduction of the bill.
first politician noticed If the committee does not agree to publish the report, Mr. Kasten promised to follow this policy.
An important aspect of this case is that Gaetz has left the House of Representatives, and as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) pointed out, it is highly unlikely that a report would be released after a lawmaker has resigned. This would set a precedent, as it is unusual.
“I'm going to urge the Ethics Committee not to publish its report, because that's not the way we operate in the House of Commons,” Johnson told reporters last week. “And I think that would set a terrible precedent.”
politiko Gaetz highlighted Gaetz's resignation as a “significant difference” from a previous case in which Kasten's office sought to force the release of an ethics report on another sitting lawmaker through a privilege resolution.
Kasten's office said there is precedent for the move. Back in 1996, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) used the privilege to force the Ethics Committee to release a report on alleged misconduct by then-Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.). A resolution was submitted. The House passed a resolution at the time rejecting Lewis' motion on the floor, and the committee was not forced to release its preliminary report. But there is a crucial difference between Lewis's precedent and Gaetz's situation. Gingrich was a sitting member of Congress, Gaetz is not.
If Mr. Kasten moves forward with the privilege resolution, Republicans will have the opportunity to introduce it before a vote is taken.
