U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to reporters as House Republican leaders hold a press conference at the U.S. Capitol House in Washington, U.S., November 12, 2024.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that House Ethics Committee’s probe into Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. attorney general, is a “Pandora’s box” and said the report from it should not be released.
“My understanding is that the report is not finished. It’s in a rough draft form. Was not yet ready to be released, and since Matt Gaetz left the Congress, I don’t think it’s appropriate to do so,” the Louisiana Republican said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
The House Ethics Committee was investigating allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and other wrongdoing. Gaetz abruptly resigned from Congress just two days before the panel was set to vote on releasing its report, Punchbowl News reported last week.
“I think that would be a Pandora’s box. I don’t think we want the House Ethics Committee using all of its vast resources and powers to go after private citizens, and that’s what Matt Gaetz is now,” Johnson said.
Gaetz’s resignation effectively ends the Ethics Committee probe because the panel’s reach is limited to members of the House.
On Thursday, an attorney for the woman who alleges she had a sexual relationship with Gaetz when she was a minor said the Ethics panel should release the report.
Johnson believes the Senate should not rely on the report for the former Florida congressman’s confirmation.
“The Senate has a role, the advice and consents role under the Constitution, and they’ll perform it,” Johnson said. “They’ll have a rigorous review and vetting process in the Senate, but they don’t need to rely upon a report or a draft report, a rough draft report that was prepared by the Ethics committee for its very limited purposes.”
Johnson and Gaetz didn’t immediately respond to CNBC’s emails for comments.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said Sunday the House Ethics Committe should “absolutely” release the Gaetz report.
“The Senate has to advise and consent these individuals, and in that process, we’re going to give Matt Gaetz the same chances we’ll give all President Trump’s nominees,” Mullin said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “If he’s qualified, he’s qualified. I’d be quite frank, I didn’t even know he was an attorney until after he was appointed attorney general, and I had to do my research on him.”
Gaetz had previously been embroiled in a federal investigation into whether he was involved in the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl. That probe, which ended last year without charges being filed, was conducted by the Department of Justice — the agency Gaetz would lead if he were confirmed as U.S. attorney general.
On Friday, a lawyer for a woman told the Ethics committee she saw Gaetz have sex with a minor, NBC News reported.
“My client testified to the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed Rep. Gaetz having sex with a minor at a house party in Orlando in 2017,” attorney Joel Leppard said.
Gaetz has denied all the allegations against him. In September, he declared he would stop cooperating with the House panel, while sharing a letter in which he vehemently denied having “sexual activity with any individual under 18.”
— CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger contributed to this story.