House Ethics Committee Votes in Secret to Release Report on Matt Gaetz.

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The House Ethics Committee is set to release its report on its investigation into former Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL). Despite initially voting against making the investigation results public in November, the powerful House committee decided in secret earlier this month to release the ethics report. The move indicates that some Republican lawmakers on the committee sided with the Democrats.

“The Biden/Garland DOJ spent years reviewing allegations that I committed various crimes. I was charged with nothing: FULLY EXONERATED. Not even a campaign finance violation. And the people investigating me hated me,” Gaetz said in a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday. The former Congressman added: “Instead, House Ethics will reportedly post a report online that I have no opportunity to debate or rebut as a former member of the body.”

In the past, the Ethics Committee has generally refrained from making public the outcome of an investigation into a lawmaker once they have left Congress. Gaetz resigned his seat after being named by President-elect Donald J. Trump as his nominee for Attorney General. However, the Florida Republican subsequently withdrew his name from consideration after it became apparent at least four Senate Republicans—led by outgoing Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)—would not budge in their opposition to his nomination.

Over the course of the year-long investigation, the committee reviewed allegations that Gaetz used illegal drugs and engaged in sexual misconduct. Additionally, the committee stated last summer that it was investigating whether the Florida lawmaker “shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gifts.”

Gaetz has consistently denied the allegations leveled by the committee. Additionally, a parallel probe of the allegations by the Biden government’s Department of Justice (DOJ) determined key witnesses against Gaetz were unreliable. The House Ethics Committee’s probe relies on the same dubious witness testimony that led the DOJ to drop its investigation of Gaetz.

Image by Gage Skidmore.

The post House Ethics Committee Votes in Secret to Release Report on Matt Gaetz. appeared first on The National Pulse.



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