As the House Ethics Committee meets behind closed doors on Wednesday to discuss its investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Congress may walk around the committee to release the panel’s findings.
Under House rules, any member of Congress can attend the meeting and vote on a “privileged resolution” that would compel the Ethics Committee to release its report on Gaetzi after two days of the biennium.
The member would only have to argue that the non-release of the report affects the “dignity” or “integrity” of the Chamber or the “reputation” of the members.
The action would be unusual, but not unprecedented. In the 1990s, Democrats repeatedly tried to force the Ethics Commission to release information about its investigations into then-Speaker Newt Gingrich.
The Capitol is seen at sunset on Capitol Hill in Washington on November 18, 2024.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Those efforts fell short as Republicans closed ranks around Gingrich and the majority. But Gaetz is widely unpopular on Capitol Hill, and it would take only a handful of Republicans — along with all the Democrats — to pass the resolution.
“If you’re a member of Congress, do you really want to be in the business of defending Matt Gaetz?” Former Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pennsylvania, who chaired the Ethics Committee, told ABC News Monday.
Representative Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, the committee’s ranking Democrat, said there are “many” precedents for the committee releasing reports even after a member has resigned.
Wilde said all committee members have access to the report and expects “one or more” Republicans to vote with Democrats to release it.
Asked if that was a possibility, Wilde said, “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to all of them. I mean, everybody on the committee has the report now, so they have an opportunity to review it.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson opposed the release of the report, saying it protects “an important safeguard for outside organizations” because any ethics investigation ends when a member leaves the House.
On Tuesday, Johnson denied pressuring Trump or Gaetz to bury the report or discussing it with them or Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss.
“I wouldn’t have that conversation (with Gaetz). Because that’s not right for us to do that,” Johnson said. “President Trump also respects the railings of our institution, and I’m very careful about those things. So none of these gentlemen would break that.”
“I haven’t talked to Michael Guest about the report. I talk to all my colleagues, but I know where the lines are. I have no idea about the content of the report,” Johnson told reporters as he returned to his office. from a press conference
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a curt “Yes” when asked Tuesday whether the Gaetz report should be made public.
If the Ethics Commission does not vote to release its findings, Democrats could raise the possibility of a vote, which would put Republicans on the record regarding Gaetz.
