US House Ethics Committee will not release Gaetz report for now as Democrats seek to force vote

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Republican opposition led to the House Ethics Committee failing to release Wednesday the panel's report on alleged sexual misconduct by former Representative Matt Gaetz, who has been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Justice Department.

The panel is comprised evenly of five Democrats and five Republicans. Shortly after lengthy closed-door deliberations, Rep. Susan Wild, the senior most Democrat on the body, said all five Republicans voted against the release of the report, leading to a deadlock.

Wild said she was prompted to speak out in defiance of an agreement to keep the proceedings secret because Republican Chairman Michael Guest mischaracterized what unfolded shortly after the meeting concluded.

"The chairman has since betrayed the process by disclosing our deliberations within moments of walking out of the committee," she said.

"He has implied that there was an agreement of the committee not to disclose the report. That is an untrue...To the extent that that suggests that the committee was in agreement, or that we had a consensus on that, that is inaccurate," she added.

The committee will meet again on Dec. 5, said Wild.

The impasse was followed by Democrats announcing that they would seek to force a vote in the full House on the report's release. Representative Sean Casten said he would seek to introduce what is known as a privileged resolution forcing the vote.

"The allegations against Matt Gaetz are serious. They are credible. The House Ethics Committee has spent years conducting a thorough investigation to get to the bottom of it," he said in a statement.

"This information must be made available for the Senate to provide its constitutionally required advice and consent," he added.

In addition to the House committee's long-running investigation, Gaetz had been under federal scrutiny over allegations that he engaged in underage sex trafficking. That probe was closed in February 2023.

Gaetz has denied wrongdoing. He abruptly resigned this month as the committee was preparing to vote on the release of its report. He spent much of the day on Capitol Hill courting Republican senators whose support will be critical during his confirmation hearings for attorney general.