The Ethics Committee of the US House of Representatives did not make public this Wednesday due to lack of agreement the report of its investigation into Matt Gaetz, nominated by the president-elect Donald Trumpto be the next attorney general and investigated for sexual misconduct and drug use.
The president of that commission, the Republican Michael Guest,he told the press at the end of the nearly two-hour meeting at the Capitol that there was no consensus among the members when making that document public.
That body was going to put its decision to a vote last Friday, but the resignation of Gaetz to his seat two days earlier, after having been appointed by Trump, he delayed that scrutiny and effectively ended the investigations into him.
Although with the departure of the representative of Florida of the Congress The commission was left without jurisdiction to investigate him, the publication of the conclusions of its investigation opened in 2021 for alleged inappropriate sexual conduct, irregular use of campaign funds, acceptance of bribes and drug use was still up in the air.
The committee interviewed two women who testified that Gaetz He paid them to have sex at a party in Florida, where prostitution is illegal.
According to the women’s lawyer told NBC News, Joel Leppard one of them also testified that she saw Gaetz having sexual relations with a minor, although he indicated that he did not believe that he knew that he was 17 years old at the time.
Gaetz has denied those accusations and the transition team Trump considers them to be unfounded and recalls that the Department of Justice closed a parallel investigation without charges.
Several senators, both Republicans and Democrats, had stated that they wanted to review that report before the Judiciary Committee of the Upper House examines the nomination of Gaetz next year and then the plenary session of that chamber will validate it or stop it.
The authorization of the positions of the future cabinet depends on the Senate, but until then Gaetz He has the support of Trump, who has stated that he does not question his own decision, and also of the future vice president, JD Vance who accompanied him to Congress this Wednesday.
However, although the committee of the House of Representatives stopped the dissemination of the report, there have already been leaks in the national press.
The lawyer for the two women indicated that they provided that committee with numerous photos related to the time they spent with the Republican, who according to that lawyer paid $6,000 to each of them. 4,000 to another for sleeping with them.
The leader of the House of Representatives the republican Mike Johnson had wanted to stay out of the committee’s decision, but at the same time did not consider it appropriate for it to disseminate its investigation: “That would open the box of Pandora and I don’t think it’s something healthy for the institution.”he pointed out.