Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., may be done with Congress. But the Congress did not do the same to him. And to serve as President-elect Trump’s attorney general, Gaetz apparently isn’t even done with Congress.
Gaetz spoke with Mr Trump on a flight to Florida to become attorney general – hours after the incoming president spoke to House Republicans in Washington last week. Mr. Trump then made Gaetz his pick and the Florida Republican resigned.
What was not known at the time was that the House Ethics Committee was about to issue a report investigating allegations of “sexual misconduct” and “drug abuse” by Gaetz. Gaetz stopped cooperating with the House investigation over the summer. The FBI investigated Getz for years — but ended its inquiry in February.
The ethics committee canceled a planned meeting where it would have released information about its investigation into Gaetz on Friday. But since Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress, the committee is supposedly powerless to act.
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Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. With President-elect Trump named an unexpected pick for attorney general, an obvious question looms: What will happen to the ethics committee’s report on alleged wrongdoing by the congressman? (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., had the following to say Wednesday when asked about the Gaetz investigation — but before the Florida Republican resigned.
“Once the investigation is complete, a report will then be issued — assuming at that time, Mr. Gaetz is still a member of Congress. If Mr. Gaetz were to resign because he is taking a position with the administration as an attorney.” At that point the ethics committee loses jurisdiction, no report will be issued that is not unique to the case.
Other members of the ethics committee tried to push back on Gaetz’s argument.
“I’m not commenting on that. I’m on the ethics committee so I stay clear of that,” said Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla.
“Can you still issue the report?” asked ABC’s Rachel Scott.
“No. Of course not,” Rutherford replied, turning to Scott.
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Typically, the House Ethics Committee rolls that way when it comes to outstanding investigations involving former members.
But this is not a hard and fast rule.
Fox has learned that the Ethics Committee released information about an investigation into the possible influence of the late Rep. John Murtha, D-Penn., after his death in 2010.
The House Ethics Committee reportedly released its findings after the resignations of former Reps. John Murtha, D-Penn., and Bill Boehner, D-Tenn. (Scott J. Farrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images | CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)
The Ethics Committee also released a 699-page report on former Rep. Bill Boehner, D-Tenn., when he left office in 1987. The committee found that Boehner used campaign funds to travel to Hong Kong and may have used his office for influence. A defense contractor.
The Ethics Committee appointed former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla. investigated in 2006 after he was caught sending inappropriate messages to House pages. Foley abruptly resigned from the House. But the ethics panel gathered a host of bipartisan congressional leaders for a closed-door deposition to determine what they knew about Foley’s activities.
That said, there is a way to get an ethics committee report dismissed.
What happened to the Gates House ethics report?
There is a procedure called “Question of Privilege of the House”. A lawmaker could take the floor under this procedure, arguing that keeping Gaetz’s ethics report under wraps undermines the dignity and integrity of the House. The House would need to vote on such a motion. If the floor is successful, the ethics panel may be forced to issue a report.
Yours truly House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, DN.Y. asked if Democrats could try to get the Gaetz report out of the Ethics Committee.
Pergram: “Can you imagine a scenario where the Democrats try to somehow get rid of this ethics report through parliamentary maneuvers?”
I spoke with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, DN.Y. asked if his party planned to find a way to get the Gaetz report out of the ethics committee. (Drew Engerer/Getty Images)
Jeffries: “The Ethics Committee is an incredibly bipartisan committee. It’s the only committee in Congress that’s evenly divided. And it has a long history of having principled people. And I hope they take that course. It will be two-sided.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee will study Gaetz’s credentials, conduct a background check and hold a confirmation hearing before ultimately voting on the nomination for a vote. It can also prevent nomination.
Senate Majority Whip and Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., formally asked the House Ethics Committee to send the report as it reviews Gaetz’s fitness for the job.
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“The order and timing of Mr. Gaetz’s resignation from the House raises serious questions about the contents of the House Ethics Committee report,” Durbin said. “This information may be relevant to the question of the confirmation of Mr. Gaetz as the next Attorney General of the United States and to our constitutional obligation to advise and consent.”
Democrats weren’t the only ones trying to defeat the report.
“I don’t think there should be any restrictions on investigations by the Senate Judiciary Committee, including whatever the House Ethics Committee makes,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
Sen. Rep. John Cornyn, R-Texas, appears eager to debunk the findings of the Gaetz report, saying there should be “no limits” on what the Senate Judiciary Committee can investigate. (Reuters)
Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., serves on the Ethics Committee. He indicated that the panel should consider sending the report to the Senate.
Ivey said, “I think the Senate certainly had a right to request it. I can’t talk about my internal deliberations. But the information they asked for, I think it’s perfectly reasonable.” ” “In fact, I think it’s important for them to get that kind of information before they make a decision.”
On Friday, Johnson noted that he “does not control the ethics committee.”
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But Johnson went further than ever about his thoughts on releasing the report.
“We should stick to the tradition of not releasing a report on a former member of the House because that would open a dangerous Pandora’s box,” Johnson said.
Johnson confirmed that during an appearance on Fox News on Sunday when asked about the release of the report.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. warned against releasing ethics committee findings, citing precedent and the potential opening of a “dangerous Pandora’s box.” (Getty Images)
“I think that would be a breach of protocol that could be dangerous for us in the future,” the speaker said.
It is possible that the Senate Judiciary Committee will take up the report of the Ethics Committee. And as suggested earlier, there is a way to exclude the report from the panel by a vote on the House floor. Such a scenario would put many Republicans in a difficult spot. They fear that voting to release the report could put them on the wrong side of incoming President Trump. To say nothing of a potential attorney general.
But Getz was not liked by his former Housemates. In fact, some Republicans have more disdain for the former Florida congressman than Democrats. That’s partly because it was Gaetz who last year single-handedly voted to remove former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. The move plunged the House into chaos for three weeks.
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Gaetz is no longer a member of the House. But it doesn’t matter. The battle over the ethics report is just beginning. And it’s just as tumultuous as when Getz was still a member.
