House Speaker Johnson resists calls to make Matt Gaetz ethics report public

The leading politician in the United States House of Representatives, Speaker Mike Johnson, has resisted calls to release a report examining allegations against Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be attorney general.

The report, led by the House Ethics Committee, examined accusations that Gaetz, 42, had inappropriate sexual relations with a minor and engaged in illicit drug use.

US media had indicated the report was slated to be released on Friday, just two days after Gaetz resigned from Congress.

On Friday, Johnson, a fellow Republican, told reporters that his recommendation was to keep the report unpublished, citing Gaetz’s resignation as a reason.

“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,” said Johnson.

But Democrats quickly slammed the speaker’s decision. Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader of the House, quoted the adage that “sunlight is the best disinfectant”.

“In a democracy, transparency is always the best course of action, particularly when it relates to high-ranking government officials,” Jeffries said, signalling his support for the report’s release.

As Trump’s pick for attorney general, Gaetz is slated to lead the Department of Justice and serve as one of the highest-ranking law enforcement officers in the country.

But allegations of sexual misconduct have fuelled the controversy surrounding Gaetz’s nomination for the post: The Justice Department itself launched a nearly three-year investigation into Gaetz, though it ultimately chose not to pursue charges.

Gaetz faces what is expected to be a contentious Senate confirmation proceeding in 2025 to decide whether his nomination will pass.

In April 2021, just months after the Justice Department probe began, the House Ethics Committee started its own investigation into Gaetz’s behaviour.

“The Committee is aware of public 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,” a press release at the time read.

Gaetz, however, has denied any wrongdoing. Like Trump, he has accused rivals in the government of weaponising the justice system against him.

“I believe that there are people at the Department of Justice who are trying to criminalize my sexual conduct, you know, when I was a single guy,” he told the publication Axios in March 2021.