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Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) connected Monday filed a suit against the House Ethics Committee successful a last-minute effort to artifact the sheet from releasing its study connected the Florida Republican.
Gaetz, who resigned from Congress past month, filed the suit arsenic several outlets reported connected leaked drafts of the Ethics Committee’s report, which CNN and CBS accidental recovered “substantial evidence” that the ex-congressman violated House rules oregon Florida authorities laws that prohibit prostitution, statutory rape, illicit cause use, impermissible gifts, peculiar favors oregon privileges and obstruction of Congress.
The sheet is expected to publically merchandise the study arsenic aboriginal arsenic Monday.
The lawsuit, filed successful national tribunal successful Washington, D.C., asks a justice to contented an exigency bid blocking the report’s release.
Gaetz claims the committee is acting beyond its authorization due to the fact that it has nary jurisdiction implicit him present that helium has resigned from Congress. Gaetz’s attorneys said the study contains “untruthful and defamatory information” that would “significantly damage” his reputation.
“The Committee's evident volition to merchandise its study aft explicitly acknowledging it lacks jurisdiction implicit erstwhile members, its nonaccomplishment to travel law notions of owed process, and nonaccomplishment to adhere to its ain procedural rules and precedent represents an unprecedented overreach that threatens cardinal law rights and established procedural protections,” Gaetz’s attorneys wrote.
The suit names the Ethics Committee and its chair, Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.), arsenic defendants.
Spokespeople for the Ethics Committee and Guest did not instantly respond to The Hill’s petition for comment.
While the Ethics Committee does not person jurisdiction implicit erstwhile members of Congress, determination is precedent to the sheet releasing the study connected ex-lawmakers — though it is rare. In 1987, for example, the committee released its study into erstwhile Rep. William Boner (D-Tenn.) aft helium resigned from the House.
The ineligible enactment could beryllium the last conflict for Gaetz successful the years-long probe into the firebrand Republican. Before the Ethics sheet resumed its investigation, the Department of Justice had investigated Gaetz for enactment trafficking and whether helium had enactment with a 17-year-old girl. The DOJ successful 2023 declined to complaint Gaetz with a crime.
Gaetz has repeatedly denied having enactment with a insignificant and different wrongdoing, and pointed to the deficiency of charges arsenic a means of discrediting the Ethics sheet investigation.
“These claims would beryllium destroyed successful tribunal — which is wherefore they were ne'er made successful immoderate tribunal against me,” Gaetz told The Hill connected Monday.
The Ethics Committee continued investigating Gaetz aft the DOJ declined to complaint the Florida Republican, probing allegations of intersexual misconduct, illicit cause use, accepting improper gifts, dispensing peculiar privileges and favors to individuals with whom helium had a idiosyncratic narration and seeking to obstruct authorities investigations of his conduct.
In a lengthy statement posted connected X past week, aft quality broke that the sheet reversed people and voted to merchandise its study into Gaetz, the ex-congressman defended his conduct, saying it was “embarrassing, though not criminal.”
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