US Senate Judiciary Chair demands release of Gaetz ethics probe

Washington: Senate Democrats plan to use their last weeks in the majority to try to make public a House sexual misconduct probe into Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump's controversial pick for attorney general.

"I am calling on the House Ethics Committee to preserve and share their report and all relevant documentation on Mr. Gaetz with the Senate Judiciary Committee," Chairman Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said in a statement Thursday.

Gaetz, a Florida Republican who resigned his seat after Trump's announcement on Wednesday, has been the subject of a long-running ethics investigation, the results of which reportedly were set for release on Friday. Gaetz, 42, has denied wrongdoing.

Tom Rust, chief counsel and staff director of the House ethics panel, declined to comment Thursday on the status of the investigation or the panel's response to Durbin's request.

Durbin cannot individually compel the report's release and it was not immediately clear if he could use his chairmanship to subpoena it. The House, however, could ignore the subpoena.

Speaker Mike Johnson said late Wednesday Gaetz submitted a resignation letter but Gaetz's office hasn't returned requests for comment on the matter.

The Ethics Committee said in June that its members were continuing to look into allegations that he engaged in sexual misconduct, took illicit drugs and accepted improper gifts. Gaetz said in September that he was no longer voluntarily cooperating with the probe.

Trump's decision to nominate Gaetz as the nation's chief law enforcement officer surprised and baffled lawmakers in both parties. It will test Trump's sway over Senate Republicans, who will take control of the chamber in January and must confirm the president-elect's nominees.

The GOP is expected to hold a 53-47 seat majority, so it would take just four Republican senators to sink his nomination. Multiple Republican senators signalled their skepticism of the choice, laying bare the confirmation challenge ahead.

Gaetz, a lightning rod within his own caucus, has been plagued by scandals, including an investigation by the Justice Department that he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl in exchange for money. He denied the allegations and was notified last year that he wouldn't face charges.

When asked Wednesday by reporters about the choice, John Cornyn of Texas said: "I'm trying to absorb all this." Another Republican senator, Susan Collins of Maine, said the pick was completely unexpected, adding that an FBI background check is part of any confirmation process. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, said she doesn't believe Gaetz is a serious candidate for the post.

"We cannot allow this valuable information from a bipartisan investigation to be hidden from the American people," Durbin said. "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."