House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) said the House Ethics Committee report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz should not be released to the public.
The House Ethics Committee launched an investigation in 2021 into allegations of sex trafficking, sexual misconduct and illicit drug use by Gaetz.
The Florida lawmaker resigned from Congress this week after President-elect Donald Trump nominated him for Attorney General.
Gaetz’s resignation came just two before the Ethics Committee was set to vote on releasing their “highly damaging” report, according to Punchbowl News.
On Thursday, Jordan told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that the report should be kept under wraps.
“It’s my understanding that it’s not supposed to go public,” Jordan said. “So if it’s not supposed to under the rules, it shouldn’t go public.”
Jordan praised Gaetz as “one of the best members we had on our committee,” adding, “there are very few people who have the cross-examination skills he does.”
Despite Jordan insisting that the report remains hidden, Senate Republicans who will consider Gaetz’s nomination next year are demanding access to the report.
“I don’t want there to be any limitation at all on what the Senate could consider,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) a senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee told reporters.
When asked if that means he wants to see the ethics report, he replied: “Absolutely.“
“I’m not going to speculate what the report shows, but that would certainly be a concern,” Cornyn said of evidence of sexual misconduct or illicit drug use.
