This afternoon, ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his nomination to serve as U.S. Attorney General in the administration of President-elect Donald J. Trump. Common Cause had opposed Gaetz’s nomination and urged the House Ethics Committee to release the report on its investigation of numerous allegations of criminal activity by the former Member who resigned days before the Committee was expected to release its report. Common Cause continues to call for the release of the report in the wake of the withdrawal of Gaetz’s nomination.

Statement of Common Cause President & CEO Virginia Kase Solomón

Americans deserve the truth. We deserve to see the full report of the House Ethics Committee’s investigation of former Rep. Gaetz which has been widely reported to include numerous allegations of criminal conduct including sex crimes and illegal drug use.

Despite his resignation from the 118^th Congress, Gaetz is still an elected Member of the 119^th Congress and may serve in the House again or be offered a high level role within the administration that does not require confirmation. For those reasons, the report must be released.. The nation deserves to know the truth about who is serving at the highest levels of government.

The nomination, which was vigorously opposed by Common Cause, was reckless, irresponsible and an insult to the American people. It showed contempt for the rule of law by the President-elect and the American people deserve to know exactly what the House Ethics Committee uncovered about the alleged criminal conduct of the former nominee.

The Senate must remain vigilant and guard against any of the reported efforts by the President-elect to bypass the Senate confirmation process for his nominees.