Democrats try to force Ethics Committee to release Gaetz report

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: ABC News

November 20, 2024, 7:16 PM


After members of the House Ethics Committee deadlocked along party lines whether to release its report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz, two Democrats introduced privileged resolutions to make the report public.

Reps. Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Sean Casten of Illinois introduced resolutions to try to force the committee to release the report. Under House rules, once a privileged resolution is introduced, the House must take it up within two legislative days.

Republicans have the majority in the House and leadership will decide when the resolution is brought up for a vote. Republicans will attempt to block the effort but it's not yet clear how this could play out.

The Ethics Committee was investigating allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ethics-committee-meet-clear-vote-gaetz-report-agenda/story?id=116019033

[Callie1979]

1. Subpoena the same witnesses to appear before the Senate.

Most will appear

[BumRushDaShow]

3. There is a little more than a month left in this current Congressional session

and the Senate majority switches over in January 2025. So it is doubtful that a subpoena would result in a witness able to schedule to come in before then - especially when that Committee (Judiciary) needs to work 100% of the time on getting the remaining Judiciary nominees out to the floor for a vote. And in January, that subpoena would expire anyway.

[Callie1979]

4. I'm talking about if they have "official" confirmation hearings

After the 1st of the year wouldnt Dems still be able to issue one? Aren't they a minority part of confirmation?
Or maybe Collins or Murkowski

[BumRushDaShow]

9. IIRC, the Committee has to vote on a subpoena

and we would obviously lose that if whoever in the GOP ends up on that Committee in January, has their say, and rejects it.

From a CRS survey of Rules (PDF) - https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44247

A Survey of House and Senate
Committee Rules on Subpoenas

Updated November 12, 2021

Summary

House Rule XI, clauses 2(m)(1) and (3), authorizes House committees and subcommittees to
issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents. Senate Rule
XXVI, paragraph 1 authorizes Senate committees and subcommittees to subpoena witnesses and
documents. In turn, most House and Senate committees have adopted their own rules on
subpoena provisions containing procedures for exercising this grant of power from their parent
chamber.

Committee rules may cover authorization, issuance, and service of subpoenas; may cover just one
or two of these actions; or may be silent on exercise of the subpoena power. A subpoena must be
authorized pursuant to committee rules. Once authorized, if the committee seeks to take the next
step, a subpoena must be issued pursuant to committee rules—signed and given to an individual
to serve a subpoena to the person named in it.

Most House and Senate committees have included in their rules one or more provisions on
committees’ and subcommittees’ power to authorize subpoenas by majority vote. Most House
committees have also delegated to their chair the power to authorize subpoenas. Many of these
rules delegating authority also require the chair to consult or notify the committee’s ranking
minority member.

Most Senate committees’ subpoena rules delegate the power to authorize subpoenas to the chair
with the agreement of the ranking minority member.

In addition to rules on authorizing subpoenas, the rules of most committees in both chambers also
address issuing subpoenas. Most House committees’ rules delegate authority to issue subpoenas
to the chair, while several committees allow another committee member who has been designated
by the committee to sign a subpoena. Most Senate committees’ rules delegate authority to issue
subpoenas to the chair and allow another committee member designated by the chair to sign a
subpoena.

(snip)

[AverageOldGuy]

5. Anyone who thinks . . .

. . . Merrick Garland will lift a finger against Trump or Gaetz is dreaming.

[AverageOldGuy]

6. Why . . .

. . . doesn’t some committee staffer or member simply leak the committee findings? Not the whole report, just the conclusions and finding . . . a few pages.

[ananda]

8. Riddle me this. Why?

Don't we already know how perverted and dirty
Matt Gaetz is?