Ethics Committee split on whether Matt Gaetz report on ‘sexual misconduct’ investigation will be released

The House of Representatives Ethics Committee could not reach an agreement on whether to release its potentially damning report on Matt Gaetz’s alleged sexual misconduct.

Members of the bipartisan panel investigated allegations that Trump’s Attorney General Gaetz had sex with a minor and used illegal drugs while he was a federal employee.

The panel met on Wednesday to determine whether to publish the potentially harmful file, but could not agree after hours of deliberation behind closed doors.

The report could still come out in other ways, possibly via a leak or transmission to the Senate for a private viewing. And the committee will meet again in December to determine how to proceed.

Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., told reporters Wednesday that he is considering forcing a vote in the full House to decide whether to release the document.

After the marathon meeting, Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Ala., told reporters: “There was no agreement by the committee to release the report.”

Susan Wild, D-Pa., said the committee voted 5-5 along ideological lines, leaving them at an impasse.

She suggested that Democrats wanted the dossier released, but all Republicans wanted to keep it private.

Gaetz is meeting with senators as his nomination for attorney general is under fire following a House Ethics Committee report, which is expected to detail allegations of sexual misconduct.

The House of Representatives Ethics Committee met Wednesday to discuss ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz awaits report on allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use

‘There was no consensus on this issue. “We agreed that we would meet again as a committee on December 5,” she told reporters.

Its release would break with a past precedent set by the panel, which no longer has jurisdiction over Gaetz after he resigned from Congress one day after being named the nation’s top law enforcement official.

Gaetz himself was on Capitol Hill during the deliberation, meeting with senators he needs on his side to confirm him as attorney general despite the scandals over his “sex party.”

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has also spoken out strongly against the release of the report, saying he strongly advises against it, but the committee decided to vote on it anyway.

Just before the private meeting, Guest said he had “reservations” about releasing the file to the public. He said the report is not yet completed and is in the “final review” stage.

“I have some reservations about releasing unfinished work product,” Guest told reporters.

He did not indicate whether or not the committee would vote on its release, nor did he indicate whether he would vote to publish it or not.

However, after the meeting, it was clear that the report had been discussed and the consensus among lawmakers was not to release the report.

Curiously, the panel convened on the same day Gaetz toured Capitol Hill with newly elected Vice President J.D. Vance in a campaign to drum up support for his AG nomination.

GOP senators will be tasked with his confirmation in January 2025.

Secretary of State nominee Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., also joined Gaetz and Vance on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

The trio organized meetings with Republican senators to drum up support for Gaetz’s nomination as attorney general, even though his many controversies could hamper their cause.

Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (C) and wife Ginger Luckey Gaetz talk with another guest at the America First Policy Institute Gala held at Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 14, 2024 in Palm Beach.

Joel Leppard of Leppard Law represents two women making allegations against Rep. Matt Gaetz

Some Gaetz members received statements indicating that the sessions went well and that they fully supported the Floridians’ nomination.

“I had a very good meeting with Matt Gaetz, President Trump’s nominee for attorney general, and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a statement after his meeting Wednesday.

“I am committed to conducting the process in a manner that is consistent with past practices and fundamental fairness. This process will not be a rubber stamp, nor will it be driven by a lynch mob.”

Graham even went so far as to remind his colleagues that the Justice Department declined to prosecute Gaetz after reviewing the allegations against him.

“I would urge all my Senate colleagues, especially Republicans, not to join the lynch mob and give the trial a chance to move forward. After years of investigation by the Department of Justice, no charges were filed against Matt Gaetz. This is something we all need to remember.”

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., posted on X on Wednesday that she, too, had a positive meeting with the controversial nominee.

“I had a great meeting with Vice President-elect Vance and Attorney General-designate Gaetz, and I look forward to a quick confirmation for our next Attorney General.”

“President-elect Trump’s administration will shake up the DC swamp, and we look forward to moving his nominees through the Senate to begin America’s great comeback.”

Still, many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have publicly called for the files to be released.

These calls are fueled by the recent testimony of Orlando-based attorney Joel Leppard, who represents two women who claim to have information about Gaetz’s allegedly grim past.

Gaetz allegedly partied, used drugs and paid women for sex repeatedly between 2017 and 2019 while serving in the House of Representatives, Leppard alleges.

The bombing allegations were at the center of the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into the ex-lawmaker, as the women reportedly testified before the panel.

According to Leppard, the Republican attended as many as ten “sex parties” where illegal drugs and “group sex situations” were present.

Both women represented by Leppard allege Gaetz paid them for sex through Venmo, the attorney alleges.

Gaetz paid more than $10,000 dollars to two women on Venmo between 2017 and 2019, ABC News reports.

“She testified [that] In July 2017, during a house party, she walked to the pool, looked to her right and saw Representative Gaetz having sex with her girlfriend, who was 17,” Leppard said Monday.

One of the witnesses claims she saw her friends having sex with Gaetz at a party in July 2017 at a gaming table thought to be an air hockey table.

The unnamed witness also says her friend was 17 years old at the time.