The House Ethics Committee is under increasing pressure to release its report on former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz following his resignation after President-elect Donald Trump nominated him for attorney general.
The bipartisan panel had been investigating Gaetz, 42, over allegations of sexual misconduct involving a minor, illicit drug use, and accepting improper gifts. However, the committee's jurisdiction ended when Gaetz stepped down from Congress last Thursday.
Despite this, Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., the top Democrat on the committee, said the report should be made public, citing past precedents. "It absolutely should be released to the public," Wild told reporters Monday. "And it should certainly be released to the Senate as well."
Wild's remarks were echoed by Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., another member of the Ethics Committee. The panel is set to discuss the report at a meeting on Wednesday, a source confirmed. Aspects of the "highly damaging" investigation have surfaced, however. One involved an allegation by a woman that Gaetz had sex with her when she was a minor. Another one that he paid two women for sex in 2017.
Trump's nomination of Gaetz has garnered heavy criticism, even within his party. Several Republican senators, who will review Gaetz's nomination next year, have also called for access to the report or details from an FBI background check. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said on NBC's Meet the Press that the report is essential for the Senate's decision-making process. "I believe the Senate should have access to that now," Mullin said. "That should definitely be part of our decision-making."
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has strongly opposed releasing the report, arguing the committee's jurisdiction does not extend to former members. "I do not. No, I think it's a terrible breach of protocol," Johnson added, saying "that is not the way we do things in the House, and I think that would be a terrible precedent." However, precedent exists for such disclosures. Reports on ethics violations were released after the resignations of Rep. Bill Boner in 1987 and Rep. Buz Lukens in 1990.
Johnson clarified Monday that he has not instructed the committee on how to proceed. "I have not dictated anything to the Ethics Committee," he told reporters. "I'm merely responding to questions from the media."
Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., confirmed that members have reviewed the report but did not comment on whether it will be released. Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to scrutinize the allegations closely during Gaetz's confirmation process.
On Tuesday, former House Ethics Committee Chair Charlie Dent urged against the appointment of Gaetz and the release of the report, saying that even if the committee declines to release the report, "a member of Congress is likely to go to the House floor and move for its immediate release, forcing a vote by the entire House."
A report from last week detailed that one of the women at the center of the report testified before the committee that the now former lawmaker had sex with her when she was 17, sources told ABC News. Now in her 20s, the woman testified for several days to the committee, recounting that the politician approached her sexually while she was a minor in high school.
Later, an attorney representing two women who testified provided new details about the case. Joel Leppard revealed that his clients said they attended more than five and as many as 10 "sex parties" with Gaetz between mid-2017 and 2018. They described there were "group sex situations" and the presence of illegal drugs in the parties. Leppard said on Monday that Gaetz also paid two women for sex after a small, invitation-only party in Florida, where prostitution is illegal.
Gaetz has denied all allegations against him. On Friday he said the ABC News reporting were "invented and would constitute false testimony to Congress."
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