House Dem moves to force vote on releasing Gaetz ethics report

A Democratic lawmaker is moving to force a vote on releasing the results of the House Ethics Committee’s report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.

Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., introduced legislation on Tuesday afternoon aimed at mandating a House-wide vote on whether to make the Gaetz report public. 

He introduced it as a “privileged resolution,” a mechanism that forces House leaders to consider it within two legislative days – putting the deadline on Thursday.

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Former Rep. Matt Gaetz has been the subject of a multi-year investigation by the House Ethics Committee. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

The House Ethics Committee’s multi-year investigation into Gaetz, involving allegations of sex with a minor and illicit drug use, came to an abrupt halt last month after he resigned from Congress hours after President-elect Donald Trump tapped him to be his attorney general.

Gaetz dropped out of consideration amid quiet but steady GOP opposition, but the committee nevertheless lost jurisdiction over the probe when Gaetz left the House of Representatives.

His resignation came just before the committee was expected to meet to consider releasing the report.

Gaetz has consistently denied any accusations of wrongdoing.

An earlier federal investigation into the allegations ended without charges against Gaetz.

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Rep. Sean Casten is aiming to force a vote on the committee’s report (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

It’s highly unusual for the House Ethics Committee, a panel normally shrouded in secrecy, to release reports on lawmakers who have left office. It’s a detail House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., raised when telling reporters last month that he was against releasing the report.

But it’s not unheard of, as Casten pointed out on Tuesday.

“The Committee on Ethics has, on many occasions, released its reports on former members,” Casten said in a statement. “Resigning from Congress should not allow Members to avoid accountability for allegations as serious as those faced by Matt Gaetz. Withholding this report from the American people would impede the dignity and integrity of the legislative proceedings of the House.”

Casten introduced a similar resolution last month, but his office said it was allowed to expire by House GOP leaders over the Thanksgiving break. 

The new resolution will likely not be sidelined so easily, with the House expected in session from now until Friday. 

Rep. Susan Wild, the top Democrat on the Ethics Committee, hinted that the vote on releasing it fell along party lines last month. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The last day to consider the resolution will be Thursday, the same day the Ethics Committee will meet after previously failing to come to an agreement on releasing the Gaetz report.

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Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., the top Democrat on the panel, hinted that the vote to do so fell along party lines.

“I’d say that a vote was taken. As many of you know, this committee is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, five Dems, five Republicans, which means that in order to affirmatively move something forward, somebody has to cross party lines and vote with the other side – which happens a lot, by the way, and we often vote unanimously,” Wild told reporters after the last meeting. “That did not happen in today’s vote.”