‘Not An Agreement’: House Ethics Committee Decides Not To Release Gaetz Investigation Findings

The House Ethics Committee decided not to release its investigation into former Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz on Wednesday.

Gaetz resigned last Wednesday shortly before the Ethics Committee was scheduled to release the investigation into allegations of the former representative engaging in sexual misconduct and illicit drug consumption. It remained unclear whether the committee’s report would be released, with Speaker Mike Johnson opposing the investigation’s publication. (RELATED: Victor Davis Hanson Explains Why He Thinks Matt Gaetz Could Be Trump’s ‘Sacrificial Lamb’ Pick)

“There was not an agreement by the committee to release the report,” Republican Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, the chair of the Ethics Committee, told reporters following a committee meeting Wednesday.

WATCH: Rep. Matt Gaetz responds on Tucker Carlson Tonight to allegations of sexual misconduct:

He says a former DOJ official named David McGee is trying to extort is family for money

He says that the FBI and DOJ have audio recordings that will prove his innocence. pic.twitter.com/J95AEFtxsr

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 31, 2021

Prior to the meeting, Guest told reporters the report was unfinished, stating he had, “some reservations about releasing any unfinished work product,” and that the report, “has not gone through the review process.”

The bipartisan Ethics Committee required a majority vote to release the report, meaning at least one member of the GOP would have had to break party ranks in order for it to be published.

The report could still end up in the hands of the public, with Democratic Rep. Sean Casten of Illinois threatening to introduce a privileged resolution Wednesday that would require the full House to vote on a resolution to release the investigation. Additionally, some of the testimony on file with the Ethics Committee has already been leaked to ABC News, and Florida attorney Joel Leppard — who represents two of the witnesses — has publicized an accusation that Gaetz had intercourse with a minor.

The Department of Justice opted not to charge Gaetz with a crime in February 2023 following a sex trafficking probe. However, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy refused to drop the Ethics inquiry, driving Gaetz to help orchestrate McCarthy’s removal as speaker.

Gaetz is accused of having sex in July 2017 with a 17-year-old woman minor at a party that included alcohol and cocaine. The Attorney General nominee has denied any wrongdoing.

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