US House panel secretly votes to release ethics report on Matt Gaetz, former Trump pick

The US House Ethics Committee voted in secret to release the long-awaited ethics report into ex-congressman Matt Gaetz, raising the possibility that the allegations against the Florida Republican who was US 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 authorised to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity on Wednesday. CNN first reported the vote.

It is 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 with minors and use of illicit drugs 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Democrats had pressed to make the report public even though Gaetz was no longer in Congress and had withdrawn as Trump’s pick to lead the US Justice Department.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 Wednesday on social media against the latest development, again denying any wrongdoing. He criticised 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”.