House Republicans on Thursday deflected two separate attempts by Democrats to force the release of an ethics report into allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use by former Rep. Matt Gaetz.
Reps. Sean Casten of Illinois and Steve Cohen of Tennessee both gave notice earlier in the week that they intended to raise the topic as a privileged question on the floor, triggering a vote. Both did so Thursday, but were batted aside in mostly party-line votes.
“The member being referenced in the resolution has actually resigned from the House of Representatives. Therefore, the question is moot,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., as he moved to refer it to the Ethics Committee.
A few boos and jeers erupted in the chamber during the reading of the resolutions, which described allegations that Gaetz had sex with a minor, used illicit drugs, and shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor. He has not been charged with a crime and previously lashed out against the Ethics Committee and its investigation, calling it “a political payback exercise.”
Rep. Tom McClintock of California was the lone Republican to oppose sending the resolutions to the Ethics panel, which has deadlocked over the fate of the report.
Earlier on Thursday, the committee — which is composed of five Republicans and five Democrats — punted for the second time in as many weeks on what to do about the report. Pressure had built on the panel to release its findings into Gaetz, a Florida Republican who announced his resignation from Congress Nov. 13, the same day President-elect Donald Trump announced he intended to nominate him to be attorney general. Gaetz withdrew his nomination Nov. 21 amid a swirl of controversy.
In a statement released after a nearly three-hour meeting Thursday, the committee said it was “continuing to discuss the matter.“ Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., said he could not disclose the next meeting date as he left the Longworth meeting room.
Punchbowl News was first to report that the committee’s ranking member, Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., was not in attendance.
“It’s not uncommon for members not to be able to make meetings. So the fact that she wasn’t there, we still had a quorum and were able to conduct business today,” Guest said.
For the panel to decide to release the report, assuming all five Democrats were present and in favor, at least one Republican would have to join them. After a previous meeting on Nov. 20, the chairman said there had been “no agreement by the committee to release the report” that day.
While members are typically tight-lipped about proceedings behind closed doors, Wild offered brief but fiery comments to reporters at the time.
“I do not want the American public or anyone else to think Mr. Guest’s characterization of what transpired today would be some sort of indication that the committee had unanimity or consensus … not to release this report,” she said.
Guest — who said following Thursday’s meeting that he would vote against the resolutions brought by Casten and Cohen — has pointed out that Gaetz is no longer in Congress and is no longer in the running for attorney general.
Casten, however, argued in the text of his resolution that there is precedent for the Ethics Committee to continue investigations and release reports on former members, citing several examples, such as the committee releasing its findings on sexual misconduct allegations against former Florida Republican Rep. Mark Foley in 2006 after Foley had resigned.
“Given the serious nature of the allegations against Representative Gaetz, a failure of the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives to publicly release its report on its investigation undermines the committee’s credibility and impedes the safety, dignity, and integrity of the legislative proceedings of the House,” Casten’s resolution reads in part.
Cohen’s resolution, similarly, would order the Ethics Committee to preserve and release all records relating to its investigation into Gaetz.
Along with other Democrats, Casten and Cohen have argued that the majority is shielding Gaetz and speculated that the Florida Republican bowed out of Congress and the attorney general race to keep damning documents sealed.
In a statement after the vote, Casten said the House “took the easy way out” and signaled he could pursue other options to dislodge the report from the Ethics Committee.
“They could have ensured a vote on whether or not former Members should be held accountable when they face serious and credible allegations of sexual misconduct, including having sex with minors. Instead, the House voted to sweep these allegations under the rug and set an unfortunate precedent that, if you are ever facing scrutiny, resigning from Congress can make your problems go away,” Casten said.
Victor Feldman and Daniel Hillburn contributed to this report.
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