U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) listens to testimony during a U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Undue Influence: Operation Higher Court and Politicking at SCOTUS,” examining allegations that former anti-abortion leader Rev . Robert Schenck received advance notice of the outcome of a major 2014 U.S. Supreme Court case involving contraceptives, written by the conservative Justice Samuel Alito, on Capitol Hill in Washington, USA, December 8, 2022.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
The House Ethics Committee on Monday published the final report about his years-long investigation into allegations that the former Republican congressman Matt Gaetz involved in sexual misconduct and illegal drug use.
Hours before the long-awaited report came out, Gaetz asked a federal judge to issue one interim injunction that would block its publication.
The ethics panel report, the final product of an investigation that began in 2021, was recently at the center of a heated controversy surrounding the former Florida lawmaker.
Gaetz, 42, resigned from Congress in mid-November, shortly after his election as president Donald Trump elected him US Attorney General. Trump’s nomination to head the Justice Department was immediately met with excitement from critics, who were quick to note that if confirmed, Gaetz would take over as head of the agency that had previously investigated him over sex trafficking allegations.
The Ministry of Justice ended this investigation without filing criminal charges. But the Ethics Commission, which had paused its own efforts while the DOJ’s version emerged, reauthorized its investigation in May 2023.
When Gaetz left Congress, Republicans including Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., said he was no longer under the committee’s jurisdiction, raising doubts about whether his report would be released publicly.
News agencies reported At the time, Gaetz’s departure came just two days before the ethics panel was set to vote on releasing the report. The committee, which consists of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans, stuck about whether to share the report even though Gaetz is no longer a congressman.
But in one secret vote At the beginning of December, the committee decided that the report should be published.
Gaetz withdrew He rejected his candidacy for attorney general after just eight days as Trump’s pick, saying he would “unfairly be a distraction” to the Republican president-elect’s transition efforts. He has denied any wrongdoing.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
Stay Ahead of the Curve!