House ethics committee to vote on publication of Matt Gaetz report
Susan Wild, the top Democratic representative on the ethics committee, said on Monday that she supported the report’s release, echoing comments made over the weekend by a fellow Democrat on the committee, Glenn Ivey.
“It should certainly be released to the Senate, and I think it should be released to the public, as we have done with many other investigative reports in the past,” Wild told reporters, according to NBC News. “There is precedent for releasing even after a member has resigned.”
Democratic members of the Senate judiciary committee, which will hold Gaetz’s confirmation hearings, have also requested the FBI’s file on the attorney general nominee.
“The Senate has a constitutional duty to provide advice and consent on presidential nominees, and it is crucial that we review all the information necessary to fulfill this duty as we consider Mr Gaetz’s nomination,” the Democrats wrote on Wednesday in a letter to the FBI director, which was obtained by Politico. “The grave public allegations against Mr Gaetz speak directly to his fitness to serve as the chief law enforcement officer for the federal government.”
If the ethics committee report is released, it could damage Gaetz’s prospects of Senate confirmation, but Trump has floated the idea of installing his nominees via recess appointment to circumvent the confirmation process.
