Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Axios: Scoop: How the Matt Gaetz ethics report finally came out
Axios - Scoop: How the Matt Gaetz ethics report finally came out
Andrew Solender
Updated 6 mins ago
The House Ethics Committee's report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) had been poised to stay officially buried — until two centrist Republicans on the panel unexpectedly voted to release it, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The vote, which took place quietly earlier this month, defied House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) urging that the report stay under wraps.
What we're hearing: Reps. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) and Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) sided with the committee's five Democrats in voting to release the report, two sources familiar with the matter told Axios.
What they're saying: Guest, in a statement after the report was released on Monday, confirmed that he "did not vote to support the release of the report."
/snip
Andrew Solender
Updated 6 mins ago
The House Ethics Committee's report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) had been poised to stay officially buried — until two centrist Republicans on the panel unexpectedly voted to release it, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The vote, which took place quietly earlier this month, defied House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) urging that the report stay under wraps.
-Gaetz, who has denied any wrongdoing, filed an 11th-hour lawsuit Monday morning seeking to block the report's publication, alleging it "contains untruthful and defamatory information."
-The effort failed — The committee had voted, and the report was released.
What we're hearing: Reps. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) and Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) sided with the committee's five Democrats in voting to release the report, two sources familiar with the matter told Axios.
-Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.), along with Reps. Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.) and John Rutherford (R-Fla.), opposed doing so, arguing the panel lost jurisdiction after Gaetz resigned, the sources said.
-It was a reversal from when the committee split along party lines in a November vote on releasing the report, thus keeping it under wraps.
What they're saying: Guest, in a statement after the report was released on Monday, confirmed that he "did not vote to support the release of the report."
-"I take great exception that the majority deviated from the Committee's well-established standards and voted to release a report on an individual no longer under the Committee's jurisdiction," he said.
-Guest also led a one-page dissent that was appended to the report "on behalf of the members of the committee" who voted against its release that said the lawmakers "do not challenge the Committee's finding."
-Spokespeople for Fischbach, Joyce and the Ethics Committee declined to comment, while spokespeople for Garbarino and Rutherford did not respond to requests for comment.
/snip
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
