Gaetz sues Ethics Committee in last-minute bid to block release of report

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Source: The Hill

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Monday filed a lawsuit against the House Ethics Committee in a last-minute attempt to block the panel from releasing its report on the Florida Republican.

Gaetz, who resigned from Congress last month, filed the lawsuit as several outlets reported on leaked drafts of the Ethics Committee’s report, which CNN and CBS say found “substantial evidence” that the ex-congressman violated House rules or Florida state laws that prohibit prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges and obstruction of Congress.

The panel is expected to publicly release the report as early as Monday.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., asks a judge to issue an emergency order blocking the report’s release.

Gaetz claims the committee is acting beyond its authority because it has no jurisdiction over him now that he has resigned from Congress. Gaetz’s attorneys said the report contains “untruthful and defamatory information” that would “significantly damage” his reputation.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5053397-gaetz-ethics-committee-lawsuit/

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Link to tweet

[Deuxcents]

1. If parts of it have been leaked, isn't too late for a law suit? Panic time for Gaetz?

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

9. I can't help but think "the condom broke", if he ever used one...

... the "slime", is out of the bag.

(I know, not a nice thing to say, but...)

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. Here's the 40 page court filing this morning from former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL)

Link to tweet

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.275994/gov.uscourts.dcd.275994.1.0.pdf

[Lovie777]

3. Why?....

He’s a member of the Republican elites and a gold standard for unethical, harasser, rapist, sex with minors and many more lack of morals GQP which qualifies him as a member of the party and the Republicans love that.

[BOSSHOG]

4. And THIS was trumps pick to be AG!

Thanks Neighbors.

If I got a straight A report card I wouldn’t sue my parents to keep them from releasing it. However, bad example. That report card never happened.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. The ethics report has already been leaked

Link to tweet

[70sEraVet]

6. 'Damage his reputation'!!!!!

[JohnnyRingo]

7. "...may damage his reputation".

Like how Helter Skelter made people think Manson was a criminal.

Everyone already knows Gaitz is a perverted creep. That's why he resigned.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

8. LOL. The court has already pointed out defects in this petition

Link to tweet

And to give you a sense of how rushed this suit was:
1) They forgot to serve DOJ
2) "House OR Representatives"
3) Forgot to make a separate motion for TRO

[rampartd]

11. a glimpse into the quality of lawyering we'd wxpect if he were ag n/t

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. Washington Examiner (right wing, I know) noted the defects, and that they may have sunk the injunction

The effort was unsuccessful, as the report was released to the public hours later.
...
The lawsuit was apparently filed quickly, as the filing contained several spelling and technical errors. The technical errors may have proven fatal, allowing the panel to proceed with releasing the report.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/3268758/gaetz-tried-sue-house-ethics-committee-releasing-report/

[Irish_Dem]

10. Gaetz must have pissed off a lot of MAGAs for them to release this report.

[Kaleva]

14. Yes.

[Irish_Dem]

15. It was not about his sex and drug use.

Many of them do the same thing.

It must be they are angry about his feud with Keven McCarthy and all of the drama around the speakership?

[Kaleva]

16. I agree

[LetMyPeopleVote]

13. Gaetz dropped his silly lawsuit

This was a very stupid lawsuit

Link to tweet

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5054338-gaetz-lawsuit-ethics-report/

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) dropped his eleventh-hour lawsuit seeking to block the release of his House Ethics Committee report since the committee distributed it publicly.

The report, released Monday, found “substantial evidence” that Gaetz paid a 17-year-old high school student for sex when he was 35, used illicit drugs like cocaine and ecstasy and obstructed Congress’s investigation into his conduct.

Gaetz filed a federal lawsuit earlier in the day attempting to block the report’s release, insisting the committee had no jurisdiction over him since the Florida Republican resigned from Congress.

“Due to the Defendant’s unprecedented and procedurally defective decision to publicize the Report that was the subject of Plaintiff’s Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order without notice to Plaintiff and while Defendants’ knew or reasonably should have known of this pending action, Plaintiff has now suffered irreversible and irreparable harm,” Gaetz attorney Jonathan Gross wrote in court filings after the committee made its report public.

“As such, Plaintiff concurs that the instant action has been mooted and the Court now lacks subject matter jurisdiction to order the previously requested relief,” Gross continued.