Gaetz-gate: Navigating the President-elect’s most baffling Cabinet pick

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., may be done with Congress. But Congress is not done with him. And as President-elect Trump’s pick to serve as Attorney General, Gaetz is apparently not done with Congress, either.

Gaetz negotiated with Mr. Trump to become Attorney General on a flight to Florida – just hours after the incoming President spoke to House Republicans in Washington last week. Mr. Trump then made Gaetz his pick and the Florida Republican resigned.

What wasn’t known at the time was that the House Ethics Committee was on the precipice of releasing a report investigating allegations of “sexual misconduct” and “illicit drug use” by Gaetz. Gaetz stopped cooperating with the House investigation over the summer. The FBI probed Gaetz for years – but dropped its inquiry in February.

The Ethics Committee dashed a planned meeting where it likely would have published information about its inquest regarding Gaetz on Friday. But since Gaetz is no longer a Member of Congress, the committee supposedly is powerless to act.

THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO POTENTIALLY RELEASING THE ETHICS COMMITTEE REPORT ON GAETZ

With Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., named President-elect Trump’s unlikely pick for Attorney General, a glaring question looms ahead: what will become of the Ethics Committee’s report on alleged improprieties by the congressman? (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., said the following on Wednesday when asked about the Gaetz probe – but before the Florida Republican resigned.

“Once the investigation is complete, then a report will be issued – assuming that at that time, that Mr. Gaetz is still a Member of Congress. If Mr. Gaetz were to resign because he is taking a position with the administration as the Attorney General then the Ethics Committee loses jurisdiction at that point. Once we lose jurisdiction, there would not be a report that would be issued. That’s not unique to this case,” said Guest.

Other Ethics Committee members tried to sidestep discussion of Gaetz.

“I’m not making any comments on that. I’m on the Ethics Committee so I’m staying clear of that,” said Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla.

“Can you still release the report?” asked Rachel Scott of ABC.

“Nope. Sure can’t,” replied Rutherford, turning toward Scott.

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That is generally how the House Ethics Committee rolls when it comes to outstanding investigations involving former Members.

But it is not a hard and fast rule.

Fox has found that the Ethics Committee released the information on its probe into potential influence peddling by the late Rep. John Murtha, D-Penn., after his death in 2010.

The House Ethics Committee has reportedly released its findings on former Reps. John Murtha, D-Penn., and Bill Boner, D-Tenn., after their departures from office. (Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images | CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)

The Ethics Committee also released a 699-page report on former Rep. Bill Boner, D-Tenn., after he left office in 1987. The committee found that Boner used campaign funds to travel to Hong Kong and may have used his office to influence a defense contractor.

The Ethics Committee investigated former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., after he was caught sending inappropriate messages to House pages in 2006. Foley abruptly resigned from the House. But the ethics panel hauled in a host of bipartisan Congressional leaders for closed door depositions to determine what they may have known about Foley’s activities.

That said, there is a way on the floor to dislodge an Ethics Committee report.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE GAETZ HOUSE ETHICS REPORT?

There is a mechanism called “question of privileges of the House.” A lawmaker could take the floor under this procedure, making the argument that keeping the Gaetz ethics report under wraps impugns the dignity and integrity of the House. The House would be required to vote on such a motion. If successful on the floor, the ethics panel could be compelled to release the report.

Yours truly asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., if Democrats might try to dislodge the Gaetz report from the Ethics Committee.

Pergram: “Could you envision a scenario where Democrats try to somehow dislodge this ethics report through a parliamentary maneuver?”

I asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., if his party planned on finding a way to dislodge the Gaetz report from the Ethics Committee. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Jeffries: “The Ethics Committee is an incredibly bipartisan committee. It’s the only committee in the Congress that is evenly divided. And it has a long history of having principled individuals on it. And I defer at this moment to whatever course they decide to take. And I hope they take a course that is bipartisan.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee will study the credentials of Gaetz, run background checks and ultimately hold a confirmation hearing before voting the nomination to the floor for a vote. It could also block the nomination as well.

Senate Majority Whip and Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., formally asked the House Ethics Committee to send over the report as it reviews the fitness of Gaetz for the job.

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“The sequence and timing of Mr. Gaetz’s resignation from the House raises serious questions about the contents of the House Ethics Committee report,” said Durbin. “This information could be relevant to the question of Mr. Gaetz’s confirmation as the next Attorney General of the United States and our Constitutional responsibility to advise and consent.”

Democrats weren’t the only ones trying to pry loose the report.

“I think there should not be any limitation on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation, including, whatever the House Ethics Committee generated,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, seems keen to unearth the Gaetz report’s findings, saying there should “not be any limitation” on what the Senate Judiciary Committee can investigate. (Reuters)

Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., serves on the Ethics Committee. He hinted that the panel should consider dispatching the report to the Senate.

“I think the Senate certainly had a right to request it. I can’t talk about our internal deliberations. But the information that they’ve requested, I think it’s totally reasonable,” said Ivey. “In fact, I think it’s essential for them to get that kind of information before they make a decision.”

On Friday, Johnson noted that he “doesn’t control the Ethics Committee.”

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But Johnson went further than he had before about his views on releasing the report.

“We should stick to the tradition of not releasing a report on a former Member of the House because it would open a dangerous Pandora’s box,” said Johnson.

Johnson reaffirmed that during an appearance on Fox News Sunday when asked about releasing the report.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., cautioned against releasing the Ethics Committee’s findings, citing precedent and the potential opening of a “dangerous Pandora’s Box.” (Getty Images)

“I think this would be a breach of protocol that could be dangerous for us going forward in the future,” said the Speaker.

It’s possible the Senate Judiciary Committee could subpoena the report from the Ethics Committee. And as suggested earlier, there is a way to dislodge the report from the panel via a vote on the House floor. Such a scenario would put a lot of Republicans in a tough spot. They may fear that voting to release the report could put them on the wrong side of incoming President Trump. That’s to say nothing of the prospective Attorney General.

But Gaetz isn’t liked by his former House colleagues. In fact, some Republicans may have more disdain for the former Florida Congressman than Democrats. That’s partly because it was Gaetz who single-handedly triggered a vote last year to remove former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. That maneuver pitched the House into three weeks of chaos.

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Gaetz is no longer a Member of the House. But that doesn’t matter. The fight over the ethics report is just getting started. And that’s spurring just as much pandemonium as if Gaetz were still a Member.