House Ethics Committee will keep Matt Gaetz report under wraps

Washington — The House Ethics Committee, meeting to consider the release of a report on its investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, did not reach an agreement on Wednesday afternoon, the committee chairman said.

The meeting came one week after the Florida Republican resigned from Congress following President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to select him for attorney general. 

House Ethics Committee chairman Michael Guest told reporters that the panel had not reached an “agreement to release the report” as he exited the meeting Wednesday afternoon. 

Guest told CBS News that he voted against the release of the report, saying “the committee no longer has jurisdiction on the issue so I disagreed with the release of the information.”

The committee’s other members did not comment on the more than two-hour meeting as they exited. 

Rep. Susan Wild, the ranking Democrat on the committee, addressed reporters after Guest’s comments, saying the committee members had agreed not to discuss what transpired at the meeting. She said Guest had “betrayed the process” by disclosing the deliberations, expressing frustration at the implication that there was unanimity among the panel. 

Wild said the idea that the committee had reached an agreement not to move forward was “untrue.” She noted that in order to move something forward in the evenly divided committee, a member has to cross party lines and vote with the other side.

“There was no consensus on this issue,” she continued. “We did agree that we would reconvene as a committee on Dec. 5 to further consider this matter.”

Meanwhile, Gaetz and Vice President-elect JD Vance met Wednesday with a number of Senate Republicans in the Capitol as they look to shore up support for his nomination. When asked by reporters Wednesday evening for his reaction to the developments from the Ethics Committee, Gaetz said he wasn’t paying much attention to the panel.

“I’ll be honest with you, I’ve been focused on what we got to do to reform the Department of Justice,” Gaetz said. “I have been meeting with senators. I haven’t been paying much attention to that.”

Gaetz said he was looking forward to his confirmation hearing in the Senate.

Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune also met with Gaetz Wednesday, a spokesperson for Thune confirmed to CBS News.

The spokesperson said that the two met “to discuss the Senate confirmation process, and he reiterated that Mr. Gaetz deserves a fair and transparent process, something that all of President Trump’s nominees deserve.”

The news of the meeting was first reported by Punchbowl. 

The House Ethics Committee, which is made up of five Republicans and five Democrats, had been investigating allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. The investigation first began in 2021, but was put on pause as the Justice Department conducted a sex trafficking and obstruction probe of Gaetz. Last year, the Ethics Committee resumed its work, after the DOJ declined to charge Gaetz, who has denied all wrongdoing.

The panel has faced growing pressure to release the potentially damaging report following Trump’s announcement, as the Senate gears up for a fight over the president-elect’s most controversial Cabinet picks seeking confirmation. Before the move, the committee had planned to meet Friday for a vote on whether to release the report, sources told CBS News. But Gaetz’s resignation from the House ended the committee’s jurisdiction, complicating the path forward since normally reports on former members are not released.  

Speaker Mike Johnson himself urged the committee not to release the report, warning last week of the “terrible precedent” the move would set, opening “Pandora’s box.” But the committee’s top Democrat has advocated for the report to be released, while senators on both sides of the aisle have pushed for it to be made available to the Senate Judiciary Committee as the chamber looks to exercise its advice and consent role over Trump’s Cabinet selections. On Wednesday morning, Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee also sent a letter to the FBI requesting Gaetz’s complete evidentiary file related to the investigation into alleged sex trafficking of minors.

In June, the Ethics Committee said as part of its investigation, it had spoken with more than a dozen witnesses, issued 25 subpoenas and reviewed thousands of pages of documents. It noted that “certain allegations” merited continued review, including claims of sexual misconduct, drug use and obstructing government investigations into his conduct, among others. 

A lawyer for two women who spoke with the committee told CBS News that the women testified to the committee that Gaetz paid them directly and repeatedly for sex, and noted that Venmo transactions related to the encounters had been obtained by the panel. One of the attorney’s clients testified that she witnessed Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old during a July 2017 party.

The Ethics Committee’s move on Wednesday comes as Senate Republicans, who flipped the upper chamber in the 2024 elections, are set to hold a narrow majority in the new Congress, bolstering Trump’s agenda and likely helping to streamline confirmation of his administration and judicial nominees. But their majority is a narrow one, putting the fate of Trump’s more controversial picks — such as Gaetz — up in the air. 

Trump said on Tuesday that he is not reconsidering his selection of Gaetz for attorney general. 

Alan He contributed to this report.

In:
• Matt Gaetz
• U.S. House Committee on Ethics
• United States Department of Justice
• Trump Administration