Casten Leads House Dems Urging Ethics Committee To Release Gaetz Probe

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) led 97 House Democrats in a letter to the House Ethics Committee requesting the immediate release of its report into allegations of serious misconduct by former Congressman Matt Gaetz.

Gaetz has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the U.S. Department of Justice. He has been the subject of a years-long ethics probe that he had paid women for sex in 2017 when he was a member of Congress.

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An attorney representing two adult women who testified before the House Ethics Committee told ABC News that Gaetz paid both his clients for sex at a small, invitation-only party in Florida where prostitution is illegal.

One of the women testified that she saw Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was 17 at the time, a minor. Gaetz has reportedly denied any wrong doing. The probe effectively ended when Gaetz resigned from the House after Trump announced that the Florida Republican was his choice to lead the DOJ.

The ethics panel is apparently considering whether to release its report publicly and is meeting Wednesday to discuss it. Casten and other House Dems want the report to be released.

“Given the seriousness of the charges against Rep. Gaetz, withholding the findings of your investigation may jeopardize the Senate's ability to provide fully informed, constitutionally required advice and consent regarding this nomination,” the lawmakers wrote. “Representative Gaetz’s abrupt resignation from Congress should not circumvent the Senate’s ability to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities.”

In addition to Rep. Casten, the letter was signed by Reps. Allred, Amo, Auchincloss, Balint, Barragán, Beyer, Bonamici, Brownley, Budzinski, Caraveo, Carbajal, Cardenas, Chu, Cohen, Connolly, Costa, Courtney, Craig, Crockett, Davis, Dean, DeGette, DeLauro, DelBene, Dingell, Doggett, Eshoo, Evans, Foster, Foushee, Frost, Garamendi, Robert Garcia, Sylvia Garcia, Goldman, Grijalva, Himes, Houlahan, Hoyle, Huffman, Jonathan Jackson, Hank Johnson, Kamlager-Dove, Kaptur, Kildee, Krishnamoorthi, Kuster, Landsman, Larsen, Barbara Lee, Summer Lee, Levin, Magaziner, Manning, Matsui, McClellan, McCollum, McGarvey, Moore, Moulton, Mullin, Nickel, Norton, Ocasio-Cortez, Pappas, Phillips, Porter, Quigley, Delia Ramirez, Raskin, Ruiz, Ryan, Salinas, Sánchez, Schakowsky, Schneider, Bobby Scott, Sherman, Sorensen, Spanberger, Stansbury, Swalwell, Takano, Thanedar, Mike Thompson, Titus, Tlaib, Tokuda, Tonko, Trahan, Vargas, Veasey, Velázquez, Waters, Watson Coleman, Wexton, and Williams.

A copy of the letter can be found here. Text of the letter can be found below.

Dear Chairman Guest and Ranking Member Wild,

We are writing today to request that you immediately release the Ethics Committee’s report into allegations of serious misconduct by former Congressman Matt Gaetz. Given President-Elect Trump’s nomination of Representative Gaetz to serve as Attorney General, your committee’s findings remain relevant despite Representative Gaetz’s recent resignation from Congress.

A President’s cabinet reflects their pledge to appoint leaders of government agencies that reflect the country they aim to serve. Cabinet members advise the President on any subject they may require relating to the duties of each member’s respective office. In no light terms, they are among the most important positions in the country. The United States Senate has a constitutional duty to provide advice and consent on presidential nominees, and it is critical that Senators have all the information necessary to consider Mr. Gaetz’s nomination.

In April 2021, the Committee announced that it was “aware of public allegations that Representative Matt Gaetz may have 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.” As a result, the Committee had “begun an investigation and will gather additional information regarding the allegations.”

In June 2024, after the investigation was reauthorized, the Committee issued another statement noting that the Committee “determined that certain of the allegations merit continued review” and that “the Committee has also identified additional allegations that merit review,” including “allegations that Representative Gaetz may have: engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.”

We are aware that traditionally, the Ethics Committee stops investigations into alleged misconduct when a member of Congress resigns. However, there is precedent for the House and Senate ethics committees to continue their investigations and release findings after a member has resigned in a scandal. For example, the Committee continued investigating Rep. Eric Massa for inappropriate sexual behavior even after his resignation. Similarly, in 2011, the Senate Ethics Committee publicly released its report on Sen. John Ensign in the days following his resignation and forwarded the report to the Department of Justice and the Federal Election Commission.

We strongly believe that this situation meets or exceeds those standards. This is not a partisan issue. In a statement to reporters on November 14th, Republican Senator of Texas John Cornyn, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, noted, “I think that there should not be any limitations on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation including whatever the House Ethics Committee has generated.”

Given the seriousness of the charges against Representative Gaetz, withholding the findings of your investigation may jeopardize the Senate's ability to provide fully informed, constitutionally required advice and consent regarding this nomination. Representative Gaetz’s abrupt resignation from Congress should not circumvent the Senate’s ability to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities.

We urge you to immediately release the Ethics Committee’s report into allegations of serious misconduct by former Congressman Matt Gaetz.