Washington— House Ethics Committee, meeting to consider the release of the report investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetzdid not reach an agreement on Wednesday afternoon, the chairman of the committee said.
The meeting comes a week after Florida Republicans resigned from Congress following President-elect Donald Trump’s decision choose him for the attorney general.
House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest told reporters that the panel had not reached “approval to release the report” as he left a meeting Wednesday afternoon.
Guest told CBS News that he voted against the release of the report, saying “the committee no longer has jurisdiction over the matter, so I do not agree with the release of the information.”
Other committee members did not comment on the more than two-hour meeting as they exited.
Rep. Susan Wild, ranking Democrat on the committee, told reporters after Guest’s comments, said committee members have agreed not to discuss what transpired in the meeting. He said Guest had “betrayed the process” by publicizing the deliberations, expressing frustration at the implication that there was unanimity among the panel.
Wild said the sentiment that the committee had unanimously voted not to move forward was “untrue,” indicating that the panel split along party lines.
“There is no consensus on this issue,” he continued. “We agreed that we will reconvene as a committee on December 5 to further consider this matter.”
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The committee, made up of five Republicans and five Democrats, has been investigating allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and drug use. The investigation began in 2021, but was halted as the Justice Department conducted a sex-trafficking investigation and Gaetz’s obstruction. Last year, the ethics committee continued its work, after the DOJ refused to charge Gaetz, who denies all wrongdoing.
The panel has come under increasing pressure to release a potentially damaging report after Trump’s announcement, as the Senate prepares to fight the president’s most controversial Cabinet picks for confirmation. Before moving, the committee had planned to meet There is a vote on whether to publish the report, sources told CBS News. But Gaetz’s resignation from the House ended the committee’s jurisdiction, complicating the path forward because usually reports on former members are not released.
Speaker Mike Johnson himself urged committee did not publish a report, warning last week of the “terrible precedent” the move will set, open “Pandora’s box.” But the committee’s top Democrat has pushed for the report to be released, while senators on both sides of the aisle have pushed for it to be made available to the Senate Judiciary Committee because that chamber exercises an advisory and consent role. Trump’s Cabinet Picks. On Wednesday morning, Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee also sent a letter to the FBI asking for Gaetz’s complete evidence file related to the investigation into child sex trafficking allegations.
In June, the Ethics Committee said that as part of its investigation, it has spoken with more than a dozen witnesses, issued 25 subpoenas and reviewed thousands of pages of documents. He noted that “certain allegations” should be reviewed, including allegations of sexual misconduct, drug use and obstruction of government investigations into his actions, among others.
A lawyer for two women who spoke with the committee told CBS News that woman testified to the committee that Gaetz paid directly and repeatedly for sex, and noted that the Venmo transaction related to the meeting had been taken by the panel. One of the attorney’s clients testified that he witnessed Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old boy during a July 2017 party.
The ethics committee’s move on Wednesday comes as Senate Republicans, who reshuffle the upper chamber in the 2024 election, are set to hold a narrow majority in the new Congress, bolstering Trump’s agenda and possibly helping to speed up his administration’s confirmation and judicial nominations. But the narrow majority, putting the fate of Trump’s more controversial picks — such as Gaetz — up in the air.
Trump said Tuesday that he is not reconsidering Gaetz’s pick for attorney general. Meanwhile, the elected Vice President JD Vance and Gaetz met Wednesday with some Senate Republicans in the Capitol when they were looking for support for his nomination.
contributed to this report.
