Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) joined all Senate Judiciary Democrats in a letter to the House Ethics Committee urging the House Ethics Committee to preserve and transmit to the Senate Judiciary Committee all relevant documentation on former Congressman Matt Gaetz, including the report that the House Ethics Committee was reportedly prepared to vote to release tomorrow. The letter follows Mr. Gaetz’s resignation from Congress yesterday after President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Mr. Gaetz to serve as Attorney General.
The Senators wrote, “The sequence and timing of Mr. Gaetz’s resignation from the House raises serious questions about the contents of the House Ethics Committee report and findings. We cannot allow this critical information from a bipartisan investigation into longstanding public allegations to be hidden from the American people, given that it is directly relevant to the question of whether Mr. Gaetz is qualified and fit to be the next Attorney General of the United States.”
The Senators continued, “The Senate has a constitutional duty to provide advice and consent on presidential nominees, and it is crucial that we review all of the information necessary to fulfill this duty as we consider Mr. Gaetz’s nomination. We thus request that you immediately provide to the Senate Judiciary Committee your Committee’s report and all documentation related to your investigation into Mr. Gaetz’s alleged misconduct. The Senate Judiciary Committee will accept this information in any format that accords with your Committee’s rules, but please include all underlying source materials on which you relied, including interviews and contact information for any of these sources.”
In April 2021, the House Ethics Committee announced that the Committee was “aware of public allegations that Representative Matt Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, in violation of House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct,” and as a result, the Committee had “begun an investigation and will gather additional information regarding the allegations.”
In June 2024, the House Ethics Committee issued a statement noting that the Committee had “determined that certain of the allegations merit continued review” and that “the Committee has also identified additional allegations that merit review,” including allegations pursuant to Committee Rules 14(a)(3) and 18(a) that Representative Gaetz may have: engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.”
There is substantial precedent for the release of such materials in both chambers of Congress. In 1987, the House Ethics Committee released a preliminary report about former Rep. Bill Boner after he left Congress, stating: “In the Committee’s view, the general policy against issuing reports in cases such as here involved is outweighed by the responsibility of the Committee to fully inform the public regarding the status and results of its efforts up to the date of Representative Boner’s departure from Congress.” Similarly, in 2011, the Senate Select Committee on Ethics released its preliminary report on former Senator John Ensign after he resigned from Congress. The House Ethics Committee has also continued investigations after Members have left Congress, such as in 2010 when it twice reauthorized its investigation into former Rep. Eric Massa after his departure.
The letter was led by Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and signed by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Laphonza Butler (D-CA).
To read the full text of the letter, click here.
(Visited 39 times, 39 visits today)
The Senate Judiciary Democrats, led by Senator Cory Booker, have recently requested the release of an ethics report on Representative Matt Gaetz from the House Ethics Committee. This request comes in the wake of serious allegations against Gaetz, including accusations of sexual misconduct and sex trafficking.
The House Ethics Committee has been investigating Gaetz for several months now, following reports that he had engaged in sexual relationships with underage girls and paid for their travel expenses. Gaetz has denied these allegations and has maintained his innocence throughout the investigation.
However, the Senate Judiciary Democrats are concerned about the lack of transparency surrounding the ethics investigation into Gaetz. They believe that the American people deserve to know the truth about these allegations and that releasing the ethics report would provide much-needed clarity on the matter.
Senator Booker, in a statement, emphasized the importance of holding elected officials accountable for their actions. He stated, “It is crucial that we have full transparency and accountability when it comes to allegations of misconduct by members of Congress. The American people deserve to know the truth about these serious allegations against Representative Gaetz.”
The request for the release of the ethics report on Gaetz is just one step in the ongoing investigation into his conduct. The House Ethics Committee has not yet indicated when or if they will release the report to the public.
In the meantime, Gaetz continues to deny any wrongdoing and has vowed to cooperate fully with the investigation. It remains to be seen what the outcome of the ethics report will be and what impact it will have on Gaetz’s political career.
Overall, the request for the release of the ethics report on Matt Gaetz highlights the importance of transparency and accountability in government. The American people deserve to know the truth about their elected officials and their conduct, and it is up to Congress to ensure that this information is made available to the public.
