Matt Gaetz ethics report to be released after secret House vote

A report into former US Representative Matt Gaetz will be made public. Photo / AFP

The House of Representatives has secretly voted to release a report into the conduct of Matt Gaetz, the former Florida representative who was forced to give up his nomination to join Donald Trump’s second administration.

The House ethics committee reversed an earlier decision not to release its investigation, which examined a series of accusations, including that he used illegal drugs and had engaged in sexual misconduct.

The claims, which have been under investigation since 2021, came to a head last month when Gaetz was nominated to be the US Attorney-General under Trump’s second administration.

He withdrew his candidacy for the role after it became clear he would not receive confirmation in the Senate, where some Republicans opposed his appointment.

The debate prompted significant interest in the ethics committee’s report, which representatives voted not to make public after opposition from House Republicans on the floor.

Gaetz resigned from Congress to join Trump’s administration just days before that decision.

However, CNN reported that the committee secretly changed its mind this month.

The report will be released in the coming weeks, it is understood.

The ethics committee is evenly split on partisan lines, indicating that at least one Republican on the panel sided with Democrats to release their findings.

Gaetz denies all the allegations against him, which encompass sexual misconduct allegations and claims he used illegal drugs, used campaign funds for personal spending and accepted gifts in violation of congressional rules.

After he was nominated as Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ), some testimony given to the committee was leaked to the press, including a claim that Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old girl.

A second woman testified to the committee that Gaetz had paid her and another girl for sex multiple times. A lawyer representing the women said they hoped to put pressure on the House to release its report.

Gaetz described that claim as “invented” and has denied any wrongdoing.

The DOJ previously spent years investigating claims against the Florida representative, who was first elected in 2017, but declined to bring any charges.