As President-elect Trump’s nominee for attorney general, former Rep. Matt. Gaetz’s credentials and character will soon come before the Senate Judiciary Committee. In order to properly vet and consider Gaetz’s nomination, the Senate Judiciary Committee should request that the House of Representatives Committee on Ethics share its final report and investigation into Gaetz, according to a letter sent today to Judiciary Committee Chair Senator Dick Durbin by CREW President Noah Bookbinder. Should the Ethics Committee refuse to share their report and should Chair Durbin not receive assurances that the full committee will not go forward with the nomination without it, the Senate Judiciary Committee should consider subpoenaing the report in coming days.

Evaluating and considering an attorney general nominee is a deeply important responsibility tasked to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The attorney general is entrusted with highly sensitive information as part of their oversight and direction of the nation’s law enforcement apparatus, and must make difficult decisions to root out wrongdoing and promote justice. With such essential responsibilities, it is crucial that the Senate Judiciary Committee have access to the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into Gaetz to determine whether he can be trusted in the role. 

During its investigation, the House Ethics Committee purportedly investigated several allegations of misconduct against Gaetz, including engaging in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepting improper gifts, dispensing special privileges and favors to individuals with whom Gaetz had a personal relationship and seeking to obstruct government investigations of his conduct. In the course of its investigation, the Ethics Committee has spoken with more than a dozen witnesses, issued 25 subpoenas and reviewed thousands of pages of documents. Regardless of what determination the House Ethics Committee makes, the Senate Judiciary Committee has a right to review the report in order to determine whether Gaetz is fit to serve as attorney general.

The Senate Judiciary Committee would be well within its power and precedent to decline to consider Gaetz’s nomination until receiving investigative findings from the House Ethics Committee and the FBI. In 2018, the Senate Judiciary Committee delayed the confirmation vote of then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court after credible allegations of sexual assault against him surfaced during his confirmation proceedings. Additionally, the House Ethics Committee has both launched an investigation and disclosed its investigative findings after a member has resigned. In 2010, when the House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into former Rep. Eric Massa after he resigned due to allegations of sexual harassment. In 2022, the House Ethics Committee also released its report on former Rep. Madison Cawthorn less than a month before his term ended. 

The Senate must fully vet nominees for powerful government roles for their temperament, expertise and loyalty to the Constitution. When nominees like Gaetz are facing credible allegations of misconduct, the stakes are that much higher, making it all the more critical that the Senate Judiciary Committee does not proceed with its consideration of Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general until it receives the House Ethics Committee report in full as well as a full FBI background investigation.

Click here to read the letter.

Photo by Gage Skidmore under a Creative Commons license

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