The House Ethics Report on former Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was released just before Christmas Eve. It alleges that he engaged in crimes that the Department of Justice (DOJ) did not pursue due to a lack of evidence. However, Representatives Dave Joyce (R-OH) and Andrew Garbarino (R-CA), key allies of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), have been found to have approved the release of the report.
The National Pulse described how Reps. Joyce and Garbarino were named to the House Ethics Committee by then-Speaker McCarthy in January 2023. They were initially opposed to the report's release due to possible pressure from current Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), but the McCarthy camp may have pressured them to approve its release.
After all, Gaetz led the effort to oust McCarthy from the Speakership in October 2023. In retaliation, McCarthy backed the campaign of Aaron Dimmock, who ran against Gaetz in the 2024 Election.
The former Florida Congressman soundly defeated "DEI Dimmock."
To recap what the report is about, an ally of Rep. Gaetz, Joel Greenberg, was charged and convicted of sex trafficking a minor in 2020. The Florida Congressman was accused of being involved in the incident and having relations with the minor the following year, which he vehemently denied.
Moreover, Rep. Gaetz produced strong evidence that he and his family were victims of an extortion scheme directed by former Department of Justice (DOJ) official David McGee, with Greenberg and the minor, who was a victim of Greenberg, acting as accomplices.
The evidence proved strong enough to have the charges against the former Florida Congressman cleared without having charges filed. Still, he remained under House Ethics Committee investigation, which he dubbed "a political payback exercise, devoid of adequate due process, riddled with leaks, and now seeking deeply personal information that is no business of Congress," in late September in a lengthy thread on X (formerly Twitter), further lamenting that "It seems the fix is in. Their investigation exists to do what the voters of my district won't - remove me from office. Therefore, I will no longer voluntarily participate in this regrettable abuse of the Committee."
