[ad_1]
House lawmakers recently voted against releasing an Ethics Committee report regarding former Rep. Matt Gaetz, a close ally of President Donald Trump, who faced allegations of illicit drug use, sexual misconduct, and obstruction of a probe. The bipartisan Ethics panel met privately to discuss the release of the report but did not come to a decision at that time, prompting House Democrats to introduce resolutions calling for the report’s release.
Republicans responded by voting to return the matter to the Ethics Committee, effectively ending the fight over the report’s release. Despite this, the full House voted on the resolutions, with Democrats advocating for the report to be made public while Republicans argued that the committee lacks jurisdiction over ex-members of Congress.
The Ethics Committee has yet to announce whether they will release the report, leaving the possibility of its public availability unclear. Gaetz, who denied the allegations, withdrew his name from consideration for the position of Attorney General after facing backlash in light of the accusations.
House Democrats cited previous instances where Ethics Committee reports about former lawmakers were made public, urging the release of Gaetz’s report due to the seriousness of the allegations against him. The debate over releasing the report highlights underlying tensions between party members regarding transparency and accountability within the congressional ethics process, with Democrats pushing for greater openness in such matters.
Photo credit
www.nbcnews.com
