WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Friday he would advise against the House Ethics Committee releasing a report regarding its investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
The House Ethics panel had been investigating Gaetz — who resigned this week after President-elect Donald Trump nominated him to serve as Attorney General. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Johnson said Friday that releasing the report would be a “terrible breach of protocol, tradition and the spirit of the rule”.
“The rules of the House has always been that a former member is beyond the jurisdiction of the ethics committee,” Johnson said. “I’m going to request, strongly request, that the Ethics Committee not issue the report.”
Johnson also said Friday that making the report public “would open Pandora’s box.” before adding, “If it’s been broken once or twice, it should not have been.”
Democrat chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) requested the that the Ethics Committee hand over all materials from the investigation into Gaetz.
Senate Republicans have been skeptical about Gaetz, many expressing concern about his nomination and qualifications.
“He’s got an uphill climb,” Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said.
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy told Bloomberg TV that Gaetz won’t be confirmed.
“Look, Gaetz won’t get confirmed,” he told the outlet. “Everybody knows that.”
