House Ethics Committee will keep Matt Gaetz report under wraps

Washington — The Home Ethics committee, assembly to think about the discharge of a report on its investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, didn’t attain an settlement on Wednesday afternoon, the committee chairman mentioned. 

The assembly got here one week after the Florida Republican resigned from Congress following President-elect Donald Trump’s determination to select him for lawyer normal. 

Home Ethics Committee chairman Michael Visitor informed reporters that the panel had not reached an “settlement to launch the report” as he exited the assembly Wednesday afternoon. 

Visitor informed CBS News that he voted towards the discharge of the report, saying “the committee not has jurisdiction on the difficulty so I disagreed with the discharge of the knowledge.”

The committee’s different members didn’t touch upon the greater than two-hour assembly as they exited. 

Rep. Susan Wild, the rating Democrat on the committee, addressed reporters after Visitor’s feedback, saying the committee members had agreed to not focus on what transpired on the assembly. She mentioned Visitor had “betrayed the method” by disclosing the deliberations, expressing frustration on the implication that there was unanimity among the many panel. 

Wild mentioned the concept that the committee had reached an settlement to not transfer ahead was “unfaithful.” She famous that to be able to transfer one thing ahead within the evenly divided committee, a member has to cross social gathering traces and vote with the opposite aspect.

“There was no consensus on this subject,” she continued. “We did agree that we’d reconvene as a committee on Dec. 5 to additional take into account this matter.”

The committee, which is made up of 5 Republicans and 5 Democrats, had been investigating allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. The investigation first started in 2021, however was placed on pause because the Justice Division performed a intercourse trafficking and obstruction probe of Gaetz. Final yr, the ethics committee resumed its work, after the DOJ declined to charge Gaetz, who has denied all wrongdoing.

The panel has confronted rising stress to launch the doubtless damaging report following Trump’s announcement, because the Senate gears up for a battle over the president-elect’s most controversial Cupboard picks in search of affirmation. Earlier than the transfer, the committee had planned to meet Friday for a vote on whether or not to launch the report, sources informed CBS News. However Gaetz’s resignation from the Home ended the committee’s jurisdiction, complicating the trail ahead since usually reviews on former members are usually not launched.  

Speaker Mike Johnson himself urged the committee to not launch the report, warning final week of the “horrible precedent” the transfer would set, opening “Pandora’s field.” However the committee’s prime Democrat has advocated for the report back to be launched, whereas senators on each side of the aisle have pushed for it to be made obtainable to the Senate Judiciary Committee because the chamber appears to train its recommendation and consent function over Trump’s Cabinet selections. On Wednesday morning, Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee additionally despatched a letter to the FBI requesting Gaetz’ full evidentiary file associated to the investigation into alleged intercourse trafficking of minors.

In June, the Ethics Committee mentioned as a part of its investigation, it had spoken with greater than a dozen witnesses, issued 25 subpoenas and reviewed 1000’s of pages of paperwork. It famous that “sure allegations” merited continued assessment, together with claims of sexual misconduct, drug use and obstructing authorities investigations into his conduct, amongst others. 

A lawyer for 2 girls who spoke with the committee told CBS News that the ladies testified to the committee that Gaetz paid them instantly and repeatedly for intercourse, and famous that Venmo transactions associated to the encounters had been obtained by the panel. One of many lawyer’s shoppers testified that she witnessed Gaetz having intercourse with a 17-year-old throughout a July 2017 social gathering.

The ethics committee’s transfer on Wednesday comes as Senate Republicans, who flipped the higher chamber within the 2024 elections, are set to carry a slender majority within the new Congress, bolstering Trump’s agenda and sure serving to to streamline affirmation of his administration and judicial nominees. However their majority is a slender one, placing the destiny of Trump’s extra controversial picks — akin to Gaetz — up within the air. 

Trump mentioned on Tuesday that he’s not reconsidering his number of Gaetz for lawyer normal. In the meantime, Vice President-elect JD Vance and Gaetz met Wednesday with quite a few Senate Republicans within the Capitol as they give the impression of being to shore up assist for his nomination. 

contributed to this report.