Matt Gaetz's resignation comes days before vote to release ethics investigation report
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz's immediate resignation from Congress on Wednesday came just days before a House Ethics Committee was set to vote on releasing its report on Gaetz, according to multiple reports.
President-elect Donald Trump named Gaetz as his pick for U.S. Attorney General, and Gaetz notified House Speaker Mike Johnson that he would resign from Congress immediately.
Johnson said the reason for the quick resignation was to allow for a faster special election in Gaetz’s Northwest Florida Congressional District.
However, both the Washington Post and the New York Times reported that the House Ethics Committee was set to vote to release a report that would be “highly critical” of Gaetz. News of the vote was first reported by Punchbowl News, and confirmed by the Washington Post and New York Times.
Gaetz’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the reports.
The Ethics Committee is still expected to meet on Friday and could vote to release the report.
Gaetz has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.
Gaetz has vehemently denied the allegations and, in September, sent the House Committee a letter refuting the allegations.
According to multiple media outlets, the probe centers around allegations that he had sexual relations with a minor and paid for her travel after he was allegedly introduced to her by Joel Greenberg, a one-time friend who is serving an 11-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to sex trafficking in 2022.
Gaetz blamed the department he is now nominated to lead for leaking the allegations to the media.
In the letter, Gaetz also said that the "Biden Justice Department loathes me."
"I believe the Biden Justice Department leaked to the New York Times in 2021 to impact the behavior and testimony of witnesses," Gaetz wrote. "My basis for this belief is a recording of Joel Greenberg from prison wherein he claims the DOJ told him that the New York Times piece put him in 'golden position.'"
Gaetz's resignation immediately ended any investigation by the committee, but the committee could still vote to release their findings.
Simultaneously, a court fight is playing out in Central Florida over whether three witness statements that reportedly place Gaetz at a Lake Mary-area "sex party" on July 15, 2017, can be released to the public.
The statements are from A.B., the 17-year-old at the center of the scandal involving Gaetz, and two other women.
The statements came during depositions and affidavits in a defamation lawsuit between Greenberg's family and the alleged host of the party, Christopher Dorworth, a former state representative and lobbyist.
Dorworth dropped the lawsuit earlier this year, but a filing for attorney fees by Greenberg’s attorney included the witness affidavits. The full statements have remained sealed, and there is a pending issue on whether the full statements will be made part of the court record.
Release of the report and record will likely be center-stage at what promises to be a contentious confirmation hearing for Gaetz in the U.S. Senate.
Many Senate Republicans have said they want to see how Gaetz will respond to questions before saying whether they’ll support him.
Sen Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has already called his pick “unserious.”
“I don’t think it’s a serious nomination for attorney general. We need to have a serious attorney general,” Murkowski told reporters Wednesday. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious.”