House Ethics Chair Michael Guest is seemingly sticking to his decision to not release his panel’s report about Matt Gaetz after the Floridian’s abrupt resignation Wednesday.
“What happens in Ethics is confidential. We’re going to maintain that confidentiality,” Guest (R-Miss.) told reporters Thursday morning as he left the House floor. “I’ve given my statement yesterday and there’s nothing new that has changed from then until now.”
When asked if he’s allowed to release the Ethics report if Gaetz isn’t in the House: “I’ve got no further comment.”
Guest told reporters Wednesday, ahead of Gaetz’s announced resignation, that the probe would end if Gaetz was no longer a member of the House.
“Once the investigation is complete, the Ethics Committee will meet as a committee. We will then return our findings. If Matt Gaetz is still a member of Congress, then that will occur. If Matt has resigned, then this ethics investigation, like many others in the past, will end again,” Guest said.
Gaetz resigned from the House just hours after President-elect Donald Trump nominated him as attorney general in his new administration. On Thursday, the House clerk read Gaetz’s resignation letter on the floor, which included the Floridian noting would not return for the 119th Congress, despite some Hill speculation.
While Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday that Gaetz had resigned so abruptly because he wanted to give leadership time to fill the seat if he becomes attorney general, some of his GOP colleagues believe Gaetz’s decision was actually tied to an Ethics Committee report investigating several allegations, including that Gaetz engaged in sex with a minor. The report was expected to come out in a matter of days, according to two Republican lawmakers, granted anonymity to speak candidly.
Gaetz has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the multiple probes into those accusations.
Despite Guest indicating the report likely won’t be formally released, it could still leak — Gaetz has made numerous enemies in the House, and senators have expressed doubts he could get confirmed. The report would likely become a huge point of contention in any hearings.
To that point, Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has already demanded that his panel see a copy of the report before Gaetz faces confirmation hearings. Of course, he won’t control the committee next year, when those hearings could occur.
“I am calling on the House Ethics Committee to preserve and share their report and all relevant documentation on Mr. Gaetz with the Senate Judiciary Committee,” Durbin, who is expected to be the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee next year, said in a statement.
He added: “We cannot allow this valuable information from a bipartisan investigation to be hidden from the American people. Make no mistake: this information could be relevant to the question of Mr. Gaetz’s confirmation as the next Attorney General of the United States.”
And it’s not just Democrats. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who lost his bid for GOP leader Wednesday, told reporters he wants to see “everything” when asked if he would like to review the Ethics report before voting to confirm Gaetz.
Anthony Adragna contributed to this report.
