Campaign Legal Center's Ethics Team Responds to Rep. Matt Gaetz’s Resignation

This week, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida resigned from the House of Representatives shortly after being nominated to serve as U.S. attorney general by President-elect Donald Trump. Due to this resignation, the House Ethics Committee may withhold from the public their findings in allegations that former Rep. Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, and obstructed government investigations. 

Kedric Payne — CLC’s vice president, general counsel and senior director, ethics — released the following statement in response to this developing story: 

“The resignation of former Rep. Gaetz and the subsequent withholding of the House Ethics Committee’s investigative report is disappointing, especially due to the fact that another, more transparent body could have provided the public with vital insight into this investigation, even after Gaetz’s resignation. 

“The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) is the only independent entity with the power to investigate members of Congress, and the OCE frequently releases their findings even when lawmakers decide to resign to avoid accountability. 

“While the House and Senate have ethics rules that Congress must abide by, these rules can still be insufficient in compelling transparency and accountability for potential wrongdoing by lawmakers. 

“Voters deserve the insight into their elected officials that ethics reports provide, and members of Congress should not be able to simply resign to avoid accountability. The comparative lack of transparency from the House Ethics Committee underscores the importance of the OCE and serves as yet another argument for codifying the OCE into law and establishing permanent independent ethics bodies for both chambers of Congress.”