WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� House Speaker said Friday that he will 鈥渟trongly request鈥� that the House Ethics Committee not release the results of its investigation into , rebuffing senators who are demanding access now that Gaetz is President-elect 's nominee for attorney general.
Johnson鈥檚 intervention is highly unusual, as the Ethics panel has traditionally operated independently. His move seems certain to add the growing over Gaetz鈥檚 nomination to become the nation鈥檚 top law enforcement officer.
"I鈥檓 going to strongly request that the Ethics Committee not issue the report, because that is not the way we do things in the House,鈥� Johnson told reporters at the U.S. Capitol. 鈥淎nd I think that would be a terrible precedent to set.鈥�
Ethics reports have previously been released after a member's resignation, though it is extremely rare.
Johnson's comments were a reversal from Wednesday, when he suggested a hands-off approach to the Gaetz report. The "Speaker of the House is not involved in that and can鈥檛 be involved in that,鈥� he previously said of the Ethics committee.
The bipartisan Ethics panel is under enormous pressure as it weighs what to do about its years-long probe into sexual misconduct and other allegations against Gaetz, who resigned from Congress on Wednesday after Trump announced him as his nominee for attorney general.
It is standard practice for the Ethics Committee to end investigations when members of Congress depart on the grounds that they lack jurisdiction to continue. But the circumstances with Gaetz are hardly standard, given his potential role in Trump's Cabinet. Senators saying the panel's material must see the light of day so that they can fully vet his nomination.
鈥淭he sequence and timing of Mr. Gaetz鈥檚 resignation from the House raises serious questions about the contents of the House Ethics Committee report,鈥� Sen. , D-Ill., chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Thursday. 鈥淲e cannot allow this valuable information from a bipartisan investigation to be hidden from the American people.鈥�
Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing that the Justice Department鈥檚 separate investigation against him into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls ended with no federal charges.
鈥淭he rules of the House have always been that a former member is beyond the jurisdiction of the Ethics committee,鈥� Johnson added. 鈥淎nd so I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 relevant.鈥�
But Republican and Democratic senators alike on the Judiciary Committee that would review Gaetz鈥檚 attorney general nomination have called for the report to be made available to them.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 going to be material in the proceedings,鈥� said Sen. , a North Carolina Republican.
Sen. , a Texas Republican, said, 鈥淚 think there should not be any limitation on the Senate Judiciary Committee鈥檚 investigation, including whatever the House Ethics Committee has generated.鈥�
However, the chairman of the Ethics panel, Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., says he doesn鈥檛 know if the committee could provide the report to the Senate: 鈥淭hat is something that staff is looking into and trying to provide some guidance to members."
When asked if he would at least discuss the report with members of the upper chamber, Guest said "that is a decision for the committee as a whole to take up at some point.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 attorney general is expected to oversee radical changes to the Justice Department, which has been the target of Trump鈥檚 ire it brought accusing him of and at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump, who cast himself as the victim of politically motivated prosecutions, vowed repeatedly on the campaign trail against his political enemies if returned to the White House.
In a statement Wednesday announcing his pick, Trump said Gaetz would root out 鈥渟ystemic corruption鈥� at the Justice Department and return the department 鈥渢o its true mission of fighting crime and upholding our democracy and constitution.鈥�
The federal sex trafficking investigation into Gaetz began under Attorney General during Trump鈥檚 first term and focused on allegations that Gaetz and paid underage girls and escorts or offered them gifts in exchange for sex.
Greenberg, a fellow Republican who served as the tax collector in Florida鈥檚 Seminole County, admitted as part of a with prosecutors in 2021 that he paid women and an underage girl to have sex with him and other men. The men were not identified in court documents when he pleaded guilty. in late 2022 to 11 years in prison.
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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Lisa Mascaro and Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.
Farnoush Amiri, The Associated Press
