US House panel votes to release report on Matt Gaetz amid allegations

The US House Ethics Committee has voted to release its report on former Representative Matt Gaetz, a source familiar with the committee said on Wednesday, weeks after the Republican dropped out of contention to be Donald Trump’s attorney general in the face of Senate opposition.

The report could be made public within days as Congress prepares to adjourn for the holidays, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing multiple sources with knowledge of the matter. Reuters was unable to confirm the timing of the report’s release.

The firebrand Republican and ally of President-elect Trump resigned from the House of Representatives in November as the Ethics Committee debated what to do with the findings of its probe into allegations of illicit drug use and of having sex with an underage 17-year-old girl. Gaetz has denied wrongdoing.

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“In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated - even some I never dated but who asked. I dated several of these women for years. I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18. Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court - which is why no such claim was ever made in court,” Gaetz, 42, said in a social media post.

“My 30’s were an era of working very hard - and playing hard too. It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now,” he said.

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The Ethics Committee met earlier this month and voted privately to release the report, the source said.

The committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this month, the Republican-majority House blocked an effort to expedite the report’s release after the panel deadlocked over whether to make it public.

Members of Congress are usually afforded the opportunity to respond in writing to the Ethics Committee’s findings but it is unclear if that will happen since Gaetz left office.

Gaetz has said he will not return to take his seat in the next session of Congress beginning Jan. 3. Instead, he is set to host a show on One America News Network, according to the television network.