Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House, to seek confidentiality for report on Trump’s attorney general nominee, says Matt Gaetz
US House Speaker Mike Johnson has stated that he will strongly request for a report on allegations of sex trafficking against Matt Gaetz, the president-elect’s choice for attorney general, to not be made public.
Johnson expressed his opposition to the publication of the House Ethics Committee report on Gaetz, who, if approved by the Senate, will assume the role of the nation’s top prosecutor once Donald Trump is inaugurated as president on January 20.
This decision comes despite Gaetz facing a Justice Department investigation for nearly three years on sex trafficking accusations involving a 17-year-old girl. He maintains his innocence and has not been charged with any crimes.
Gaetz has limited experience as a prosecutor and has primarily worked in law at a local level for a few years.
He resigned from Congress after being announced as Trump’s pick for attorney general.
His resignation halted the House Ethics Committee’s investigation, preventing the release of its report on the trafficking allegations just two days before it was scheduled to be made public.
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Why is Matt Gaetz a controversial pick?
House Speaker Mr Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, expressed his stance on the investigation: “I’m going to strongly request that the Ethics Committee not issue the report, because that is not the way we do things in the House.”
Members of both parties on the Senate Judiciary Committee have voiced their interest in reviewing the report on Gaetz as part of the Senate confirmation process for cabinet nominees, which is set to begin with public hearings next year.
Democrats have criticized Gaetz as a “gonzo agent of chaos” and have called his appointment a “red alert moment for our democracy,” while some Republican senators have raised concerns about his suitability for the position.
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Mr Johnson shared his plans to urge House Ethics Committee chairman Michael Guest to withhold the report from the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“The rules of the House have always dictated that a former member is outside of the Ethics Committee’s jurisdiction,” stated Mr Johnson, who recently returned from a meeting with Mr Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
“I believe it would set a terrible precedent to release the report,” he added. “It goes against the protocol, tradition, and spirit of the rule.”
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Mr Johnson had previously stated that, as Speaker, he could not participate in the decision-making process regarding the release of the report.
