As the year comes to a close, the drama on Capitol Hill continues. The latest shake-up is the secret vote of the House Ethics Committee to release the ethics report of former Republican U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz from Florida.
On the eve of the ethics report’s release earlier this fall, Gaetz abruptly resigned as a congressman — and then was conveniently tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be the next U.S. Attorney General. Because Gaetz resigned from Congress, Congress begrudgingly decided not to release the report. However, Gaetz’s nomination was quickly eclipsed by allegations of his illegal drug use and sexual misconduct with minors. Consequently, Gaetz was forced to withdraw his nomination as attorney general.
Then, the House Ethics Committee secretly decided to release the report.
“It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now,” Gatez posted on X — formerly Twitter — in response to the report’s release.
Allegedly, it was a little more than partying.
Gaetz has also noted that the Justice Department’s separate investigation against him into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls ended last year without federal charges. However, his once political ally, Josh Greenberg, was not so lucky. The same investigation resulted in a plea deal with Greenberg admitting — as part of a plea deal 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. Greenberg was sentenced in late 2022 to 11 years in prison.
The full ethics report is expected to be released by the end of this year.
