House Republicans succeeded Thursday in killing a Democratic effort to release the Ethics Committee’s report on the investigation into former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.
The House voted 206-198 to send Democratic Rep. Sean Casten’s resolution — which wanted to make the Gaetz report public — back to the Ethics Committee, and two weeks ago it voted against releasing the report.
Casten’s privileged ruling tried to force the Ethics Committee to release its report. Casten released an updated version of his resolution on Tuesday, which included several examples of the committee releasing reports on former members of Congress. Republicans used Gaetz’s resignation from the House as a reason to fight his release.
Another by Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen, who wanted to make the report public and preserve all documents related to the investigation, was also sent to the Ethics Committee in a 204-198 vote.
After the vote, Casten said in a statement that Republicans “took the easy way out.
“When faced with serious and credible allegations of sexual misconduct, including having sex with minors, it could have guaranteed a vote on whether or not former members should be held accountable. Instead, the House swept those allegations under the rug and set an unfortunate precedent. if you crack the exam, quitting Congress can make your problems go away,” he said.
The committee met for two hours Thursday afternoon before voting on the report, but members did not disclose what was discussed. In a statement made by the committee after the meeting, he said that “the issue continues to be discussed”.
It would only take a handful of Republicans to cross party lines and vote with Democrats to pass the measure to send the resolutions to committee or force the release of the report. Rep. Tom McClintock was the only Republican to vote with Democrats on Caste’s resolution.
The Ethics Committee was investigating allegations that Gaetz shared sexual misconduct, illegal drug use, inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, diverted campaign funds to personal use, and/or received a bribe, improper gratuity or bribery. that he accepted one an impossible gift
Representative Sean Casten attends a press conference on the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s climate rulemaking in Washington on March 6, 2024.
Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Agreement vote The bipartisan Ethics Committee met Thursday afternoon to discuss the report. At their last meeting in November, Republican committee members blocked release of the report.
Johnson has consistently said the Gaetz ethics report should not be made public, citing a long tradition of dropping investigations after a member leaves Congress. Gaetz suddenly resigned last month after being elected president Donald Trump announced that he had been elected attorney general. He later withdrew from consideration after it was revealed he was facing a surge of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, which would vote on whether to confirm his nomination.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, speaks during the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 17, 2024.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Democrats pushed for the release of the report after Trump’s announcement, saying it was important for the Senate to review it for the attorney general. Although Gaetz left, the Democrats decided to continue the effort.
Gaetz was re-elected to the 119th Congress before Trump was elected AG, but announced after his retirement that he would not serve another term. He promised to remain “fully committed” to support the president-elect.
Gaetz sells private videos on Cameo, where users can buy a personalized video message from celebrities on the site.
