Washington – The House Ethics Committee is meeting to consider issuing a report on Investigation of former representative Matt GaetzThe chairman of the committee said, no agreement could be reached till Wednesday afternoon.
The meeting came a week after the Florida Republican resigned from Congress following President-elect Donald Trump's decision choose him For the Attorney General.
House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest told reporters as he left the meeting Wednesday afternoon that the panel had not reached an “agreement on releasing the report.”
Guest told CBS News that he voted against releasing the report, saying, “The committee no longer has jurisdiction over this issue so I disagree with releasing the information.”
Other committee members did not comment on the meeting that lasted more than two hours when they came out.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The committee, made up of five Republicans and five Democrats, was investigating allegations that Gaetz was involved in sexual misconduct and illegal drug use. The investigation first began in 2021, but was put on hold as the Justice Department conducted a sex trafficking and obstruction investigation into Gaetz. Last year, after the DOJ, the Ethics Committee resumed its work refused to charge Gaetz, who has denied all wrongdoing.
The panel faces increasing pressure to release a potentially damaging report following Trump's announcement, as the Senate prepares to battle confirmation of the president-elect's most controversial Cabinet selections. Before this move, the committee had planned to meet Sources told CBS News there will be a vote Friday on whether to release the report. But Gaetz's resignation from the House ended the committee's jurisdiction, complicating the way forward because reports on former members are not typically released.
Speaker Mike Johnson himself to plead strongly The committee warned last week that not releasing the report would set a “terrible precedent” and open a “Pandora's box”. But the committee's top Democrat has advocated for the report's release, while senators on both sides of the aisle have pushed for it to be made available to the Senate Judiciary Committee as the chamber seeks to step up its advice and consent role. Trump's cabinet selectionsOn Wednesday morning, Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee also sent a letter to the FBI requesting Gaetz's complete evidence file related to the investigation into alleged sex trafficking of minors.
In June, the Ethics Committee said that as part of its investigation, it spoke to more than a dozen witnesses, issued 25 subpoenas and reviewed thousands of pages of documents. It said “certain allegations” required continued review, including claims of sexual misconduct, drug use and obstruction of government investigations into his conduct.
Lawyers for the two women who spoke to the committee told cbs news The women testified before the committee that Gaetz paid them directly and repeatedly for sex, and noted that Venmo transactions related to the encounters were obtained by the panel. One of the lawyer's clients testified that she saw Gaetz have sex with a 17-year-old boy during a July 2017 party.
The Ethics Committee move on Wednesday comes as Senate Republicans, who flipped the upper chamber in the 2024 elections, are set to keep a narrow majority in the new Congress, boosting Trump's agenda and potentially scuttling his administration and judicial nominees. Will help streamline verification. But his majority is very slim, leaving the fate of Trump's more controversial picks — such as Gaetz — hanging in the balance.
Trump said Tuesday that he was not reconsidering Gaetz's selection for attorney general. Meanwhile, the Vice President-elect JD Vance and Getz He met with several Senate Republicans at the Capitol on Wednesday as they seek to rally support for his nomination.
Contributed to this report.