U.S. House Ethics Committee Chair Rep. Michael Guest, R-Mississippi, has retracted his committee’s involvement from the Matt Gaetz investigation after the former Florida representative withdrew himself from the U.S. Attorney General nomination and decided against seeking reelection to Congress.
The committee was investigating allegations that the former Florida congressman paid a 17-year-old to have sex with him at a party in July 2017 and that he used illegal drugs at the same party. Gaetz has claimed he is innocent and said the investigation was a “smear.” CNN first reported the allegations.
Additionally, the federal investigation into Gaetz’s alleged sexual misconduct established a web of payments including two women who testified that they were paid to have sex with the former congressman.
After President-elect Donald Trump nominated Gaetz to serve as Attorney General in his upcoming second term, growing leaks around the federal investigation and the ethics inquiry put pressure on Gaetz to withdraw—dimming the likelihood that his confirmation process would be successful even in the event that he stayed.
Guest said his committee’s investigation of Gaetz is over since the former congressman withdrew his candidacy for attorney general and left the House of Representatives.
“I think that this should end the discussion of whether or not the Ethics Committee should continue to move forward in this matter,” the Ethics Committee chair told reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday. “He has withdrawn his nomination. He is no longer a member of Congress, and so I think that this settles any involvement that the Ethics Committee should have in any matters involving Mr. Gaetz.”
In a Thursday press release, the Mississippi Democratic Party condemned Guest’s decision to withdraw his committee’s involvement in the Gaetz investigation.
“Under Representative Guest’s leadership, the committee’s recent actions have veered into questionable territory, leading many to question whether ethical considerations or political motivations drive its decisions,” Mississippi Democratic Party Chair Rep. Cheikh Taylor, D-Starkville, Miss., wrote. “The Mississippi Democratic Party takes a firm stand against using such critical oversight mechanisms for partisan gain.”
The U.S. House of Representatives met on Wednesday to decide whether or not to release the Ethics Committee’s report but could not come to an agreement. The committee will reconvene on Dec. 5 to reexamine the matter. Republican and Democratic senators were asking to see the committee’s report while they were considering Gaetz’s attorney-general nomination.
The U.S. Department of Justice also investigated allegations that Gaetz was involved in sex trafficking and obstruction, but prosecutors did not charge him. Ten Democrats who are on the Senate Judiciary Committee asked the FBI on Wednesday to release Gaetz’s evidentiary file in the now-closed case.
Steven Cheung, communications director for President-elect Trump told the New York Times that the leaks were a form of legal warfare against Trump. “This purposeful leaking of classified investigative materials is the sort of politicized D.O.J. weaponization that Matt Gaetz will end,” Cheung said.
The U.S. Constitution requires Florida voters to fill Gaetz’s empty congressional seat in a special election since he resigned from the U.S. House and cannot reassume his position or have someone appoint him. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Twitter that his administration would announce the special election schedule “immediately.”
Gaetz, for his part, told conservative influencer Charlie Kirk that he would not be returning to Congress next year.
“Eight years is probably enough time in the United States Congress,” Gaetz said.