This is another demonstration of the hypocrisy of the MAGA GOP. In public, all but one republican member of the committee voted against releasing the results of the Gaetz investigation. That shields them against any reprisals from the Orange Revenger.
But behind closed doors... well, republicans know just as well as democrats what an utter POS Gaetz is. They voted their conscience.
Hopefully the vote tally doesn't get out, or Kash will be coming for them.
https://apnews.com/article/matt-gaet...d5e641d455d734
House Ethics Committee secretly voted to release Matt Gaetz ethics report, source says
By FARNOUSH AMIRI and LISA MASCARO
Updated 11:39 AM CST, December 18, 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee voted in secret to release the long-awaited ethics report into ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz, raising the possibility that the allegations against the Florida Republican who was President-elect Donald Trump’s first choice for attorney general could be made public in the coming days.
The decision by the bipartisan committee was made earlier this month, according to a person familiar with the vote who was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday. CNN first reported the vote.
It’s a stunning turnaround for the often secretive panel of five Republicans and five Democrats. Just last month, members voted along party lines to not release the findings of their nearly four-year investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct (redacted) and use of (redacted) while Gaetz was in office.
Democrats had pressed to make the report public even though Gaetz was no longer in Congress and had withdrawn as Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department. A vote on the House floor this month to force the report’s release failed; all but one Republican voted against it.
Gaetz lashed out Wedneday on social media against the latest development, again denying any wrongdoing. He criticized the committee for its move after he had left Congress, saying he would have “no opportunity to debate or rebut as a former member of the body.”
“It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life,” Gaetz posted on X, the website formerly known as Twitter. “I live a different life now.”
Most Republicans have argued that any congressional investigation into Gaetz ended when he resigned from the House. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also requested that the committee not publish its report, saying it would be a terrible precedent.
While ethics reports have previously been released after a member’s resignation, it is extremely rare.
Gaetz has noted that the Justice Department’s separate investigation against him into sex trafficking allegations involving (redacted) ended last year without federal charges.
Onetime political ally Joel Greenberg, a fellow Republican who served as the tax collector in Florida’s Seminole County, admitted as part of a plea deal with prosecutors in 2021 that he paid women and (redacted) to have sex with him and other men. The men were not identified in court documents when he pleaded guilty. Greenberg was sentenced in late 2022 to 11 years in prison.
GOP Led House Ethics Committee secretly voted to release Matt Gaetz ethics report, source says
