House Speaker Mike Johnson Pushes to Block Damaging Ethics Report on Matt Gaetz, Citing ‘Former Member is Beyond the Jurisdiction of the Ethics Committee

Speaker Johnson Calls for Withholding Ethics Report on Matt Gaetz as AG Nomination Sparks Controversy

House Speaker Mike Johnson urged the House Ethics Committee on Friday to withhold a potentially damaging report investigating allegations against former Rep. Matt Gaetz. Gaetz, who recently resigned from Congress, departed just after President-elect Donald Trump announced plans to nominate him as attorney general.

The timing of Gaetz’s resignation has raised questions, as it occurred days before the House Ethics Committee was set to vote on releasing its findings. The report allegedly addresses serious allegations, including sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, and bribery. The committee canceled its planned vote late Thursday, leaving the matter unresolved.

“The rules of the House have always been that a former member is beyond the jurisdiction of the Ethics Committee,” Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told reporters. He argued that releasing the report would establish a “terrible precedent” and violate longstanding House protocols.

“I believe it is essential to maintain the House’s tradition of not issuing ethics reports on people who are no longer members of Congress,” Johnson added. “The House Ethics Committee’s jurisdiction is over sitting members of Congress. That’s an important rule.”

Bipartisan Scrutiny Over Ethics Findings Intensifies

Despite Speaker Johnson’s position, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has called on the House panel to share its findings. The Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees attorney general confirmation hearings, plays a critical role in this process.

“The sequence and timing of Mr. Gaetz’s resignation from the House raises serious questions about the contents of the House Ethics Committee report,” Durbin said Thursday. “We cannot allow this valuable information from a bipartisan investigation to be hidden from the American people. This information could be relevant to Mr. Gaetz’s confirmation as the next attorney general.”

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, a Judiciary Committee member, echoed Durbin’s call for transparency. Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, though not on the Judiciary Committee, also voiced his support. “We should be able to get a hold of [the report] and should have access to it one way or another,” Rounds said in a CNN interview.

Previous DOJ Investigation Adds to Controversy

The Ethics Committee report isn’t the first investigation into Gaetz. A Justice Department inquiry previously sought to determine whether Gaetz violated sex trafficking and obstruction of justice laws. Although no charges were filed, the allegations remain a contentious issue. Gaetz has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

The Ethics Committee’s decision to withhold its findings for now underscores the political sensitivity of the matter. However, mounting bipartisan pressure suggests that the report could become a focal point in Gaetz’s confirmation hearings. Whether the House sticks to its tradition or yields to calls for transparency may set a precedent for handling similar cases in the future.