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house ethics committee
Watchdog Urges House Panel to Publicly Release Ethics Report on Trump AG Pick Matt Gaetz
"The public has a right to access and review the committee's findings," said Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
Nov 14, 2024
A leading government watchdog group on Thursday implored the House Ethics Committee to make public the findings of its yearslong investigation into Matt Gaetz, who abruptly resigned from Congress Wednesday shortly after President-elect Donald Trump named the Florida Republican as his attorney general pick.
"While Mr. Gaetz can no longer be sanctioned by the committee or the House, nothing in committee or House rules bars the committee from sharing its report, findings, and exhibits with the public," Donald Sherman, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), wrote in a letter to the leaders of the ethics panel.
"In fact, the committee's charge to prevent violations of and promote compliance with House rules and related statutes by House members, officers, or employees demands release of this information to the public," Sherman added. "The public has a right to access and review the committee's findings. This demand is even more acute given that the committee was also investigating allegations that Mr. Gaetz sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct, and he has now been nominated to become the next attorney general."
Trump's announcement and Gaetz's resignation from his congressional seat came two days before the House ethics panel was reportedly planning to vote to release a report on its findings. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters Wednesday that Gaetz's resignation effectively shut down the ethics committee probe, given that the panel "has no jurisdiction" over former members of Congress.
But CREW observed in its letter that the House Ethics Committee has previously sustained probes and released findings after the lawmaker under investigation stepped down.
"The committee has the discretion to pick and choose when continuing investigations or releasing investigative findings are in the public interest," the letter notes. "It should do so here."
"The sequence and timing of Mr. Gaetz's resignation from the House raises serious questions about the contents of the House Ethics Committee report."
The ethics committee's probe of Gaetz began in 2021 after a New York Timesreport revealed that the Florida Republican was "being investigated by the Justice Department over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old" and violated federal sex trafficking laws.
The DOJ ended its Gaetz probe last year without bringing charges.
Upon launching its probe, the House ethics panel
said it would examine whether Gaetz "engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, in violation of House rules, laws, or other standards of conduct."
Calls for the House Ethics Committee to, at the very least, release its findings to senators tasked with voting on Gaetz's confirmation to lead the Justice Department have come from both Democrats and Republicans.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas)
told reporters Thursday that the Senate "should gain access to all relevant information by whatever means necessary," including a subpoena.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement Thursday that the House ethics panel must "preserve and share their report and all relevant documentation on Mr. Gaetz with the Senate Judiciary Committee."
"The sequence and timing of Mr. Gaetz's resignation from the House raises serious questions about the contents of the House Ethics Committee report," said Durbin. "We cannot allow this valuable information from a bipartisan investigation to be hidden from the American people. Make no mistake: This information could be relevant to the question of Mr. Gaetz's confirmation as the next attorney general of the United States and our constitutional responsibility of advice and consent."
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'To Hell With This Place,' George Santos Says After Expulsion From Congress
"A majority of Republicans voted against Santos' expulsion. That speaks volumes about the state of the Republican Party," said one observer.
Dec 01, 2023
The U.S. House voted overwhelmingly to expel Republican Rep. George Santos on Friday, ending a brief tenure in Congress that was engulfed by glaring and often bewildering scandals.
Santos—who is facing 23 criminal counts including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States—left the House chamber before the vote was complete. The final tally was 311-114, with 112 Republicans—including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)—and two Democrats voting against expulsion.
"Why would I want to stay here? To hell with this place," Santos told reporters following the vote.
Santos, the sixth lawmaker to ever be expelled from the House, flipped New York's 3rd Congressional District seat from Democratic to Republican in the 2022 midterms, but he began facing calls to step aside before he was even sworn in after it became clear that he fabricated aspects of his biography.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Justice Department unsealed a 13-count indictment accusing Santos of money laundering, wire fraud, and theft of public funds, among other charges. Santos pleaded not guilty.
In October, federal prosecutors filed 10 additional charges against Santos, intensifying calls for his resignation or expulsion. Last month, the House Ethics Committee released a report alleging that Santos used campaign funds on credit card bills, gambling, Botox, and luxury shopping.
"George Santos' expulsion from the House of Representatives is long overdue," Lisa Gilbert, the executive vice president of Public Citizen, said in a statement. "His removal is a testament to the tireless advocacy of ethics advocates and his constituents. Residents of NY-03 were lied to throughout his campaign and denied competent representation in Congress for nearly a year. They now have a chance for honest representation."
"What should have been an open-and-shut case of defrauding voters became a year-long MAGA circus as former Speaker [Kevin] McCarthy, current Speaker Johnson, and other extreme House leaders shielded Santos from accountability—abandoning ethical responsibility in favor of one additional vote for their dangerous and unpopular agenda," Gilbert added. "We are all better off now that Santos no longer holds a seat in Congress."
"Now that Santos has been expelled from Congress, we look forward to seeing him held accountable by our legal system."
Santos' ouster triggers a special election early next year that analysts believe is a toss-up. The New York Timesreported Friday that the race is "expected to be one of the most high-profile and expensive off-year House contests in decades."
"It has the potential to further shrink Republicans’ paper-thin majority and offer a preview of the broader battle for House control next November," the Times noted. "More than two dozen candidates have already expressed interest in running, and labor unions, super PACs, and other groups have begun earmarking millions of dollars for TV ads."
Brett Edkins, managing director of policy and political affairs at Stand Up America, said following Friday's vote that "until the very end, Republican leaders tried to protect Santos, putting cronyism and political expediency over principled leadership."
"A majority of Republicans voted against Santos' expulsion. That speaks volumes about the state of the Republican Party," said Edkins. "The campaign finance laws that Santos clearly violated are essential to preventing and punishing corruption and helping voters make informed decisions at the polls. Now that Santos has been expelled from Congress, we look forward to seeing him held accountable by our legal system."
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Fresh Calls for George Santos Expulsion After Ethics Report Drops
"This report has one clear conclusion: Santos is wholly unfit to hold office," said one campaigner.
Nov 16, 2023
U.S. Rep. George Santos said Thursday that he will not seek reelection following the release of a sprawling House Ethics Committee report detailing an array of alleged misconduct and criminal violations, but government watchdogs said the congressman's plans to leave office after another whole year were far from sufficient.
"If George Santos had any shame or remorse over deceiving hard-working New Yorkers and his colleagues in Congress, he would resign immediately," said Brett Edkins, managing director of policy and political affairs for Stand Up America. "Since he refuses to step down, House Republicans should grow a backbone and expel him from the House of Representatives."
The latest demands for Santos' (R-N.Y.) immediate resignation or expulsion—which have followed him since before he even took office this year—came as the committee's report revealed new details about mounting allegations against him that he stole from his campaign coffers, fabricated loans, and engaged in fraud.
More than 170,000 pages of testimony and supporting documents showed House investigators that Santos "sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit," according to the report. "He blatantly stole from his campaign. He deceived donors into providing what they thought were contributions to his campaign but were in fact payments for his personal benefit."
The committee conducted an in-depth investigation of a consulting firm called RedStone, which Santos allegedly established to help with his electoral campaign. But no Federal Election Commission registration for RedStone exists, and the probe found that thousands of dollars from the company were used by Santos to pay personal credit card bills and make a purchase of more than $4,100 at the luxury designer brand Hermes, as well as "smaller purchases" at the adult website OnlyFans.
"George Santos' pattern of dishonest and illegal conduct is outrageous and continues to get more," said Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). "He should have resigned a long time ago. It is to the House Ethics Committee's credit that it conducted a serious investigation and uncovered even more wrongdoing by Santos. Enough is enough, Santos needs to resign today."
Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.) is reportedly planning to file a motion to expel Santos Friday morning.
It would be the second expulsion vote centering on Santos this month. On November 1, newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) joined 181 Republicans as well as 31 Democrats who opposed a resolution to expel Santos over his numerous lies.
Last month, federal prosecutors filed 10 charges against Santos, including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States. Santos pleaded not guilty earlier this year to 13 other charges, including money laundering and stealing public funds.
"George Santos built his political career on lies and deceit, so it comes as no surprise that the bipartisan ethics committee found he likely committed multiple crimes to obtain his seat in Congress," said Edkins on Thursday. "Even his Republican colleagues concluded his actions damage the reputation of the House of Representatives and warrant punishment. This report has one clear conclusion: Santos is wholly unfit to hold office."
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) also said he would soon be "submitting a privileged resolution" to expel Santos.
"The committee's condemning report has made it crystal clear that the GOP's decision to wait nine months was not only irresponsible but dangerous," said Garcia. "George Santos has no place in Congress."
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