The House Ethics Committee on Wednesday declined to release its own report on Matt Gaetz, the Florida representative who has been picked to be the next Attorney General during the Trump administration.
Some committee members say that the report is “not done” but Politico reports that it is. The committee voted not to release it but Democratic Ranking Member Susan Wild says that the committee will meet again in December to vote again.
The report details allegations that Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old girl and that he paid for sex with underage girls. The Department of Justice investigated this for three years and declined to prosecute, citing that they had a “lack of credible evidence.”
One of the primary witnesses was Joel Greenberg, who was convicted of child sex trafficking. Greenberg agreed to testify against Gaetz to reduce his sentence. However, Greenberg has a history of accusing other men of pedophilia, such as when he falsely accused a school teacher who was his political opponent. Also, the 17-year-old in question who allegedly had sex with Matt Gaetz actually did have a sexual relationship with Greenberg. There is also evidence that she lied about her age, presenting herself as 18 years old.
All of this is presumably why the DOJ declined to prosecute Gaetz. But could the House Ethics Committee have unturned something more that is incriminating? Possibly. It is also possible that they didn’t and that is why we haven’t been allowed to see it yet.
I’d say it is in our best interest to see this and all investigations about all elected representatives.
