Gaetz saga moves toward final act in House

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-Fla.) time in Congress may be over, but the saga over the House Ethics Committee’s report on its years-long investigation into him is in its final act.

Two Democrats who moved to force votes requiring the Ethics panel to release its report have signaled they will continue that push, which could tee up votes on the matter this week. And the Ethics Committee itself is scheduled to have another meeting on Thursday, during which the Gaetz matter will almost certainly come up.

The result will be either the report’s blockbuster release, or a door slam keeping it under wraps.

The committee investigated Gaetz over allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, and accepting improper gifts, among other claims. Gaetz has vigorously denied wrongdoing, including allegations that he had sex with a 17-year-old girl. The Department of Justice declined to charge Gaetz after investigating similar matters.

The Ethics Committee, which generally does not have jurisdiction over former lawmakers, in November declined to release its not-quite-complete report shortly after President-elect Trump picked Gaetz to be attorney general. Gaetz has since withdrawn from consideration for the Cabinet role but said he won’t return to Congress.

Ranking member Susan Wild (D-Pa.) said the vote on releasing the report, which would have required at least one Republican in support, was along party lines. 

The panel, though, did vote to formally “complete” the report, a source told The Hill — and suggested that they could hold a vote on releasing it since it would be “ready” by the next scheduled meeting on Dec. 5.

"Once it's released, you guys are gonna devour it," the source said before Gaetz withdrew his name, referring to the press. "So, it has to be done right."

But Gaetz no longer being in consideration to be attorney general could change the calculus for the panel’s Republicans who may have been considering releasing the final report at the Dec. 5 meeting, potentially giving more weight to the moves to force the whole House to consider the report’s release.

After the committee declined to release its findings as-is, Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Sean Casten (D-Ill.) each moved to force votes on their separate resolutions to require disclosure of the Ethics panel’s report.

Even after Gaetz withdrew from consideration, Cohen and Casten indicated they would still seek to require House action on their resolutions, meaning full House votes on the matter could happen this week.

“He could get appointed a position in the Trump administration … and that could be such a job that it would be important to the public to know about this report,” Cohen said on MSNBC after Gaetz yanked his name for the attorney general slot, also noting that the panel had investigated whether Gaetz used his office to dispense special privileges to those with whom he had a personal relationship.

Casten in a statement said that while he “welcome[d]” the news of Gaetz withdrawing from consideration, “it remains important that the Gaetz report be made available to the American people.”

It is likely that House Republicans will move to table consideration of the resolutions or refer them to committee, which would essentially kill the efforts if those votes succeed.

Support from at least a handful of Republicans would be required to force the report’s release. And with a number of House Republicans openly loathing Gaetz, crossover support to release it is possible.

Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) told CNN in November that he would support the move to require disclosure of the Ethics Committee report.

“I think it’s very important that everyone has as much knowledge as possible so that they can make an informed decision,” Van Orden said.

Another House Republican also told The Hill before Gaetz withdrew his name that they were leaning in favor of voting for the release of the Ethics report.

But much of the push to release the report was in the name of making information available as he was under consideration for the Cabinet, and his withdrawal could have changed the thinking of those members.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) publicly argued against releasing the report even before Gaetz withdrew his name. He argued that it was not proper to release Ethics investigations on nonmembers, even as Republican senators called for the report to be released amid Gaetz’s attorney general nomination.

That sentiment appears to be present within the Ethics panel itself.

The chair of the House Ethics Committee, Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.), told CBS News that Gaetz’s withdrawal from consideration to be attorney general should “end the discussion” about whether it should release its report on Gaetz.

“He has withdrawn his nomination, he is no longer a member of Congress, and so I think his settles any involvement that the Ethics Committee should have in any matters involving Mr. Gaetz,” Guest said shortly after the Florida congressman withdrew his name from consideration.

While rare, there is precedent for the Ethics Committee to release a report on a former member.

In 1987, the panel released its report into former Rep. William Boner (D-Tenn.) after he resigned from the House. And in 2011, the Senate Ethics Committee released its preliminary report into former Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) after he departed the upper chamber.

Mychael Schnell contributed.