The House Ethics Committee is expected to release its report into the conduct of former Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, as early as Monday, bringing to a close its yearslong investigation of the man President-elect Donald J. Trump initially chose to lead the Justice Department.
Since the spring of 2021, Mr. Gaetz has been under investigation over an array of allegations, including that he engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds for personal use and accepted gifts that violated House rules.
The release would continue a tumultuous stretch for Mr. Gaetz. In November, Mr. Trump announced that he had chosen the Florida congressman to be his attorney general, after which Mr. Gaetz abruptly resigned from the House.
But after the announcement, news leaked that the Ethics Committee had been planning to release its long-awaited investigation before Mr. Gaetz resigned. As Senate opposition rose against his nomination, Mr. Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration for attorney general.
The congressional investigation was paused during a related Justice Department investigation of Mr. Gaetz’s conduct, including allegations involving sex trafficking and sex with a minor. In February 2023, the Justice Department decided not to bring charges against Mr. Gaetz after concluding it could not make a strong enough case in court. Once that inquiry ended, the Ethics Committee resumed its work, eventually interviewing more than a dozen witnesses, issuing 25 subpoenas and reviewing thousands of pages of documents.
After Mr. Trump made public his plans to choose Mr. Gaetz as attorney general, senators in both parties quickly called on the committee to release its findings.
For weeks, the panel haggled internally over whether to release the report before voting to do so this month, according to people familiar with the matter.
The vote came less than a week after House Republicans banded together to block a Democratic move on the floor to force the release of the report, instead returning the matter to the Ethics Committee for further consideration.
Mr. Gaetz has denied wrongdoing.
In a post on social media on Wednesday, Mr. Gaetz denied some of the central allegations against him, including that he had paid an underage girl for sex and solicited prostitutes, dismissing them as a distortion of youthful indiscretions.
“In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated — even some I never dated but who asked,” he wrote. “I dated several of these women for years. I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18.” He added: “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.”
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