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Panel to meet Wednesday, expected to discuss Gaetz report,

sources say

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Ethics panel probed alleged sexual misconduct involving a

teenager

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Gaetz denies wrongdoing

By Bo Erickson

WASHINGTON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of

Representatives Ethics Committee is expected to discuss next

steps on Wednesday in its investigation into President-elect

Donald Trump's attorney general pick Matt Gaetz, two sources

with knowledge of the panel's plans said.

The sources were granted anonymity to discuss the bipartisan

panel's inner workings.

A growing number of Trump's fellow Republicans in the U.S.

Senate, which has a constitutional duty to confirm or reject

high-level presidential appointments, have called on the House

panel to turn over its findings on allegations of sexual

misconduct involving a teenager and drug use by Gaetz.

It is uncertain whether the probe will continue because

Gaetz, 42, resigned his seat in the Republican-controlled House

on Wednesday, hours after Trump unveiled his choice of the

lawmaker and as the probe was nearing completion. Gaetz denies

any wrongdoing.

Republican U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin on Sunday told

NBC's "Meet the Press" that the panel should share its report

with the Senate.

"The Senate should have access to that," Mullin said.

"Should it be released to the public or not? That I guess will

be part of the negotiations."

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he believes

the report should not be made public, as Gaetz is no longer a

House member.

Gaetz is one of a number of Cabinet nominees tapped by Trump

last week who lack the resumes normally seen in candidates for

high-level administration jobs. The Department of Justice, which

the attorney general leads, investigated Gaetz for nearly three

years over sex trafficking allegations involving the teenager.

Gaetz's office said in 2023 that prosecutors had told him he

would not face charges.

Trump himself faced a pair of federal prosecutions since

leaving office in 2021, one for his efforts to overturn his 2020

election defeat and one for mishandling classified documents

after leaving office. He has denied wrongdoing, described those

prosecutions and two others he faced as politically motivated

and vowed to use the Justice Department to go after political

enemies when he returns to power on Jan. 20.