Ethics Committee split on whether Matt Gaetz report on 'sexual misconduct' investigation will be released

The House Ethics Committee couldn't come to an agreement about whether to release its potentially damning report on Matt Gaetz's alleged sexual misconduct.

Members on the bipartisan panel have been investigating allegations that Trump's attorney general pick Gaetz had sex with a minor and did illegal drugs while a federal employee. 

The panel met on Wednesday to determine whether they should publish the potentially damaging file, but couldn't agree after deliberating for hours behind closed doors.

After the marathon meeting, Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Ala., told reporters: 'There was no agreement by the committee to release the report.'

Releasing it would break with past precedent set by the panel that no longer has jurisdiction over Gaetz after he resigned from Congress one day after being tapped to be the nation's highest law enforcement official.

The report still may come out in other ways, potentially via a leak or transmission to the Senate for a private viewing. 

And Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., told reporters on Wednesday that he is considering forcing a full House vote to decide on whether the Gaetz file should be released. 

Gaetz himself was actually on Capitol Hill during the deliberation, meeting with senators he needs on his side to confirm him as attorney general despite his 'sex party' scandals.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has also come out firmly against the report's release, saying he strongly advises against it, but the committee decided to vote on it any way. 

Just before the private meeting, Guest expressed that he had 'reservations' about releasing the file to the public, saying the report is not finished and is instead in the 'final review' stages.  

'I have some reservations about releasing any unfinished work product,' Guest told reporters.

He did not indicate whether the committee was voting on the release or not, nor did he indicate whether he would vote for its publication or not. 

However after the meeting it was clear the report was discussed and that the consensus among the lawmakers was to not release the report. 

Awkwardly the panel met the same day that Gaetz was touring around Capitol Hill with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance in a campaign to win support for his AG nomination.

GOP senators will be tasked with his confirmation come January 2025. 

Secretary of State nominee Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., also joined Gaetz and Vance on Capitol Hill Wednesday. 

The trio set up meetings with GOP senators to rally support for Gaetz's nomination to become attorney general, though his many controversies may hinder their cause. 

Some of the members Gaetz did meet with put out statements indicating the sessions had gone well, and that they are in full support of the Floridians nomination.

'I had a very good meeting with President Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, Matt Gaetz, and Vice President-elect JD Vance,' Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a statement following his meeting Wednesday.

'I am committed to allowing the process to go forward in a manner consistent with past practices and fundamental fairness. This process will not be a rubber stamp nor will it be driven by a lynch mob.'

Graham even went as far as reminding his colleagues that the Department of Justice refused to prosecute Gaetz after reviewing the allegations against him.

'I would urge all of my Senate colleagues, particularly Republicans, not to join the lynch mob and give the process a chance to move forward. After years of being investigated by the Department of Justice, no charges were brought against Matt Gaetz. This is something we should all remember.'

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., posted on X Wednesday that she too had a positive meeting with the embattled nominee. 

'I had a great meeting with Vice President-Elect Vance and Attorney General Nominee Gaetz, and I look forward to a speedy confirmation for our next Attorney General.'

'President-Elect Trump’s cabinet is going to shake up the D.C. swamp, and we look forward to moving his nominees through the Senate to begin the great American comeback.'

Still, many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have publicly called on the files release. 

Fueling those calls is the recent testimony from a Orlando-based attorney Joel Leppard who represents two women who claim to have information on Gaetz's allegedly lurid past.

Gaetz allegedly partied, used drugs and paid women for sex repeatedly between 2017 and 2019 while serving in the House of Representatives, Leppard claims.

The bombshell allegations have been central to the  House Ethics Committee investigation into the ex-lawmaker as the women have reportedly testified before the panel. 

The Republican attended up to 10 'sex parties' where illegal drugs and 'group sex situations' were present, according to Leppard.

Both women represented by Leppard allege that Gaetz paid them for sex via Venmo, the attorney claims. 

Gaetz paid upwards of $10,000 dollars to two women on Venmo between 2017 - 2019, ABC News reports. 

'She testified [that] in July of 2017, at this house party, she was walking out to the pool area, and she looked to her right, and she saw Rep. Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was 17,' Leppard said Monday.

One of the witnesses alleges that she saw her friends having sex with Gaetz at a party in July 2017 against a game table thought to be an air hockey table.

The unnamed witness also says that her friend was 17 years old at the time.