Congress could go around Ethics Committee if it doesn’t release Gaetz report

November 19, 2024

(WASHINGTON) -- While the House Ethics Committee will meet behind closed doors on Wednesday to discuss its investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, it's possible that Congress could go around the committee to release the panel's findings.

According to House rules, any member of Congress can go to the floor and tee up a vote on a "privileged resolution" that would force the Ethics Committee to release its report on Gaetz within two legislative days.

The member would only have to argue that not releasing the report impacts the "dignity" or "integrity" of the House or "reputation" of its members.

The action would be unusual, but not unprecedented. In the 1990s, Democrats repeatedly tried to force the Ethics Committee to divulge information about investigations into then-Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Those efforts came up short because Republicans closed ranks around Gingrich and the majority. But Gaetz is incredibly unpopular on Capitol Hill, and it would only take a handful of Republicans -- along with all Democrats -- to pass the resolution.

"If you're a member of Congress, do you really want to be in the business of defending Matt Gaetz?" former Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pennsylvania, who led the Ethics Committee, told ABC News Monday.

Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said there are "plenty" of precedents of the committee disclosing reports even after a member has resigned.

Wild said that all members of the committee have access to the report and hopes that "one or more" Republicans will vote with Democrats for its release.

Asked if that's a possibility, Wild said, "I don't know. I haven't talked to all of them. I mean, everybody, everybody on the committee now has the report, so they've got the opportunity to be reviewing it."

House Speaker Mike Johnson has opposed releasing the report, saying he's protecting an "important guardrail for out institution" that any ethics investigation ends once a member leaves the House.

On Tuesday, Johnson denied that Trump or Gaetz have pressured him to bury the report or that he had discussed it with them or Ethics Committee Chairman Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss.

"I wouldn't have that conversation with [Gaetz]. Because that's not appropriate for us to do that," Johnson said. "President Trump respects the guardrails of our institution as well, and I'm very guarded about those things. So neither of those gentlemen would breach that."

"I haven't talked to Michael Guest about the report. I talk to all my colleagues, but I know where the lines are. I have no idea about the contents of the report," Johnson told reporters as he walked back to his office from a news conference.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a brief "Yes" when asked Tuesday if the Gaetz report should be released to the public.

If the Ethics Committee doesn't vote to release its findings, Democrats could raise the possibility of forcing a floor vote – which would put Republicans on the record about Gaetz.