Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin (Democratic) told the House Ethics Committee that former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) was chosen by President-elect Trump to be attorney general. It called for the report on Rep. (R-Fla.) to be “preserved and shared.”
On Wednesday, after receiving the attorney general's consent from President Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that Gaetz was resigning “effective immediately” and that Gaetz had been implicated in allegations of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use. The investigation into whether or not the incident occurred was effectively invalidated. .
Durbin, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, called on the Ethics Committee in a statement Thursday to share its report with the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“The order and timing of Mr. Gaetz's resignation from the House of Representatives raises serious questions about the contents of the House Ethics Committee's report. This valuable information from a bipartisan investigation will be withheld from the American people,” the statement said. I cannot forgive that.”
“Make no mistake, this information may be relevant to Mr. Gaetz's confirmation as the next Attorney General and the issue of his constitutional responsibility to advise and consent,” he added in a statement.
In a thread of posts on social platform X, Durbin said:emphasizedhis statement.
Sources told The Hill that prior to Trump's announcement, the ethics committee was scheduled to meet on Friday to vote on whether to release the report on Gaetz. Punchbowl News first reported the meeting.
The committee was scheduled to meet in the last week of July to vote on releasing Gates' report, the person said. Had the vote been approved, the panel would have released its report after the senator's August primary and before the November general election, in accordance with election concealment rules. However, the House went into recess in early July and voting was suspended, officials said.
Gaetz's departure from Congress ended the investigation, but the panel could still vote to release the report in an unusual move.
Mr. Trump's nomination of Mr. Gaetz to be attorney general was unexpected and drew gasps when Mr. Trump announced it, according to a person in the room where House Republicans waited for the leadership race to begin. He said he heard a sound.
