House Speaker Mike Johnson says that releasing Matt Gaetz's House Ethics Committee report after his resignation would open a 'Pandora's box.'
House Speaker Mike Johnson explained his opposition to releasing the House Ethics Committee report on Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Sunday. Johnson, R-La., made the comments during an appearance on 'Fox News Sunday' with host Shannon Bream. He argued that releasing such a report after Gaetz's resignation could open a 'Pandora's box.' Gaetz resigned from Congress last week shortly after President-elect Trump nominated him to serve as U.S. attorney general.
There's a very important reason for the tradition and the rule that we always have – almost always followed – and that is that we don't issue investigations and ethics reports on people who are not members of Congress. I'm afraid that that would open a Pandora's box because the jurisdiction of the Ethics Committee is limited to those who are serving in the institution. That's its very purpose.
News reported on Thursday that a woman testified to the ethics committee that she had sexual relations with Gaetz when she was 17 years old. The House investigation ceased when Gaetz resigned on Wednesday. Gaetz told Fox News Digital in response to the new report, 'These allegations are invented and would constitute false testimony to Congress. This false smear following a three-year criminal investigation should be viewed with great skepticism.
Fox News Digital also reached out to Gaetz's congressional office for comment. The Department of Justice had previously spoken to the woman, now in her 20s, according to ABC, as part of its years-long investigation into Gaetz related to accusations of sex trafficking and obstruction of justice. The DOJ ultimately did not press charges, and Gaetz has consistently denied all wrongdoing.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, suggested he would want to see the report. 'I think there should not be any limitation on the Senate Judiciary Committee's investigation, including whatever the House Ethics Committee has generated,' he told reporters. Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind and Tyler Olsen contributed to this report
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