Speaker Johnson says he's going to request Ethics Committee not release Gaetz report
Source: CNN Politics
Updated 1:45 PM EST, Fri November 15, 2024
CNN — House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Friday that he does not think a House Ethics Committee report on allegations related to Matt Gaetz should be released and is “going to strongly request that the Ethics Committee not issue the report.”
Johnson called on the ethics panel to withhold the report shortly after returning from visiting with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, and said he plans to speak with the panel’s chairman, GOP Rep. Michael Guest. Gaetz, who resigned from Congress this week after Trump announced his intent to nominate him to serve as attorney general, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. “I’m going to strongly request that the Ethics Committee not issue the report because that is not the way we do things in the House, and I think that would be a terrible precedent to set,” Johnson told reporters on Friday.
The comments are a significant move by the House GOP leader to push to block the release of a report from a probe that is supposed to be separate from the speaker’s office. Johnson’s comments also mark a reversal after he said on Thursday, “the speaker is not involved with what happens in ethics. Lots of important reasons for that.” Since Gaetz has resigned, the probe has ended as the panel only has jurisdiction over a member when they are serving in Congress.
Lawmakers have been deliberating whether the panel still has the power to release the report, even if Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress. Speaking again to reporters again on Friday after saying he would ask the Ethics Committee not to release the report, Johnson refused to say if he had spoken to Trump about the issue and sought to clarify his position on the committee not issuing the report.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/15/politics/johnson-ethics-report-gaetz/index.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
in charge of our health and human services. This country is just so fucked up! 
Official Press Release from Ethics Committee (18 June 2024):
"On April 9, 2021, the Committee announced it had initiated a review into allegations that Representative Matt Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, in violation of House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct. The Committee deferred its consideration of the matter in response to a request from the Department of Justice (DOJ). In May 2023, the Committee reauthorized its investigation after DOJ withdrew its deferral request.
There has been a significant and unusual amount of public reporting on the Committee’s activities this Congress. Much of that reporting has been inaccurate. The Committee’s investigations are conducted confidentially, but the Committee’s confidentiality rules do not prohibit witnesses from disclosing information about the Committee’s requests or conversations with Committee investigators. The Committee is confident in the integrity of its process.
Representative Gaetz has categorically denied all of the allegations before the Committee. Notwithstanding the difficulty in obtaining relevant information from Representative Gaetz and others, the Committee has spoken with more than a dozen witnesses, issued 25 subpoenas, and reviewed thousands of pages of documents in this matter. Based on its review to date, the Committee has determined that certain of the allegations merit continued review. During the course of its investigation, the Committee has also identified additional allegations that merit review.
Accordingly, the Committee is reviewing allegations pursuant to Committee Rules 14(a)(3) and 18(a) that Representative Gaetz may have: engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct. The Committee will take no further action at this time on the allegations that he may have shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe or improper gratuity.
The Committee notes that the mere fact of an investigation into these allegations does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred. No other public comment will be made on this matter except in accordance with Committee rules."
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Source:
https://ethics.house.gov/press-releases/statement-regarding-matter-representative-matt-gaetz
And here is Matt Gaetz's favorite photo:
the yards of everywhere Mike Johnson lived.
