Democracy Dies in Darkness

Opinion The Gaetz report remains secret. Precedent suggests it shouldn’t be.

The Ethics Committee’s failure is not the final word on the probe into the attorney general nominee.

4 min
House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-Mississippi) before a closed-door meeting Wednesday on whether to release a report about Matt Gaetz. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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On Wednesday, Republicans on the House Ethics Committee blocked the release of findings in the panel’s investigation of former congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Florida). Instead, the committee voted to shelve its report, which is not yet final.

Fine. But the committee, which meets again next month, needs to release the material well before the Senate considers Mr. Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general.