(WASHINGTON) — The House Ethics Committee quietly voted earlier this month to release its report into the conduct of former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, multiple people with direct knowledge of the decision tell ABC News.
The report is expected to be released after the final House votes are cast for the year and as members head home for the holidays, those sources said.
The move appeared to catch Gaetz off guard. He told ABC News that he was not informed of the committee’s decision.
In a lengthy response on X, the conservative firebrand said, “I’ve never been charged. I’ve never been sued. Instead, House Ethics will reportedly post a report online that I have no opportunity to debate or rebut as a former member of the body.”
CNN was first to report the development.
House Ethics Committee members declined to comment to ABC News.
Gaetz has been under scrutiny amid sexual misconduct allegations, including accusations that he had sex with a minor, which he has long denied.
President-elect Donald Trump last month tapped him to serve as attorney general in the incoming administration, and Gaetz resigned his congressional seat shortly after. But Gaetz subsequently withdrew his name from consideration, saying his confirmation process was “unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
The House Ethics Committee was in the final stages of its probe into Gaetz when Trump tapped him for attorney general, prompting a fiery debate on Capitol Hill on whether the panel should release its report.
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