Matt Gaetz sues House Ethics Committee to stop release of ethics report on sexual misconduct probe

WASHINGTON -- Former Rep. Matt Gaetz connected Monday filed a suit against the House Ethics Committee that investigated him for years, successful an effort to stop the committee from releasing its study connected their probe into allegations of intersexual misconduct and illicit cause use.

"This enactment challenges the Committee's unconstitutional and ultra vires effort to workout jurisdiction implicit a backstage national done the threatened merchandise of an investigative study containing perchance defamatory allegations," the filing from Gaetz says.

Gaetz successful the filing asks the tribunal to contented a impermanent restraining bid and a preliminary injunction to artifact the merchandise of the study oregon immoderate findings, which helium says would origin "damage to [his] estimation and nonrecreational standing" that would beryllium "immediate and severe."

"The threatened merchandise of accusation believed to beryllium defamatory by a Congressional committee concerning matters of intersexual propriety and different acts of alleged motivation turpitude constitutes irreparable harm that cannot beryllium adequately remedied done monetary damages," the filing states.

Gaetz's suit highlights that helium is present a nationalist national and claims helium did not person "proper notice" of the report's impending release.

"After Plaintiff's resignation from Congress, Defendants improperly continued to enactment connected its investigation, and seemingly voted to publically merchandise reports and/or investigative materials related to Plaintiff without due announcement oregon disclosure to Plaintiff," the ailment states.

Gaetz has repeatedly denied immoderate wrongdoing. Following indications past week that the committee would merchandise its report, Gaetz took to X successful a lengthy post, penning successful portion that erstwhile helium was azygous helium "often sent funds to women" helium dated and that helium "never had intersexual interaction with idiosyncratic nether 18."

"It's embarrassing, though not criminal, that I astir apt partied, womanized, drank and smoked much than I should person earlier successful life. I unrecorded a antithetic beingness now," helium posted. "I've ne'er been charged. I've ne'er been sued. Instead, House Ethics volition reportedly station a study online that I person nary accidental to statement oregon rebut arsenic a erstwhile subordinate of the body."

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The Justice Department declined to complaint him past twelvemonth aft a yearslong probe into akin allegations.

President-elect Donald Trump past period tapped Gaetz to service arsenic lawyer wide in the incoming administration, and Gaetz resigned his legislature spot soon after. But Gaetz subsequently withdrew his sanction from consideration, saying his confirmation process was "unfairly becoming a distraction to the captious enactment of the Trump/Vance Transition."

The Ethics Committee was successful the last stages of its probe into Gaetz erstwhile Trump tapped him for lawyer general. The committee mostly drops investigations of members if they permission office, but Gaetz's resignation prompted a fiery statement connected Capitol Hill implicit whether the sheet should merchandise its study to let the Senate to execute its relation of vetting statesmanlike nominations.

The committee initially voted against releasing the study earlier reversing course, sources said.