Ethics committee does not publish report on candidate Trump

WASHINGTON – A bipartisan House committee has agreed not to release a highly anticipated report on the allegations against him. former Rep. Matt Gaetz, WHO President-elect Donald Trump was selected as the next attorney general.

The decision is at the center of a heated debate over Gaetz’s nomination, which faces a steep climb in the Senate. While House Speaker Mike Johnson called on the committee not to release the report, several Republican senators who would vote for its approval insisted they should have access to it.

Parliamentary Ethics Committee, conduct an investigation There were allegations that Gaetz used illegal drugs, engaged in sexual harassment, misused campaign funds, or accepted bribes and gifts.

The Justice Department, which Gaetz would head if attorney general, was investigating similar allegations that Gaetz committed statutory rape by paying for sex with a 17-year-old boy and traveling with her across state lines. That investigation was dropped before the Justice Department filed charges against Gaetz.

A. lawyer of two women He said that his clients testified to the House of Representatives Ethics Committee about the allegations. One said he saw Gaetz under the influence of drugs and claimed he had sexually assaulted a 17-year-old boy, but he did not think Gaetz knew the girl’s age. Gaetz denied the allegations.

Gaetz abruptly resigned from his position in the House last Wednesday, just days before the panel was scheduled to release the report on its findings.

The confidential committee has no authority over former MPs and usually does not provide information about investigations unless the person is no longer in office. exceptions.

But Democrats on the committee said the report contained information senators needed to know when considering Gaetz’s nomination. Republicans on the ethics panel have remained largely silent on where they stand, but Johnson said last week he would do so. “I strongly request” They keep it private.

All Democrats on the panel agreed to release this report, and it only took one Republican member to side with them to tip the scales. To remain neutral, the panel is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, compared to the commission, which has at least one other member from the majority party on most committees.

Gaetz has become Trump’s most controversial Cabinet nominee yet. it exists a difficult road It will be confirmed next year in the Senate, which Republicans control 53-47. More than four Republican senators have expressed concern about his candidacy, and many more have done so privately. If more than four GOP lawmakers vote against his nomination, he will not be confirmed as attorney general.

Vice President-elect J.D. Vance is guiding Gaetz through the Senate this week to meet with members of the Judiciary Committee, which will be responsible for initial review of his nomination before a vote by the full Senate. Gaetz is also personally calling senators to get confirmation.

Some of Trump’s advisers have also suggested that their nominee bypass traditional FBI background checks in favor of private investigators, which many Republican senators oppose. However, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. Led by Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the FBI on Wednesday presented its entire dossier of evidence on Gaetz to the panel as it evaluates the nominee. The Senate is responsible for providing advice and approval on the presidential cabinet, Durbin wrote in a letter to the FBI. “It is critical that we review all the information necessary to accomplish this mission.” “The public allegations against Mr. Gaetz directly indicate that he is qualified to serve as the federal government’s chief law enforcement officer,” he wrote. “Unanswered questions about Mr. Gaetz’s alleged conduct are especially important given that his partner, Joel Greenberg, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking charges for which Mr. Gaetz was also investigated.”

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