Santa Barbara Rep. Carbajal Joins Nearly 100 House Democrats Calling for Release of Ethics Committee Report on Matt Gaetz

The nomination last Wednesday of Florida’s Matt Gaetz to be incoming President Trump’s attorney general and Gaetz’s abrupt resignation the same day from the U.S. House of Representatives has stirred up a storm of controversy over Gaetz’s purported sex trafficking of a 17-year-old and the ethics inquiry that apparently ended with his resignation. Nearly 100 Democrats in the House, including Santa Barbara representative Salud Carbajal, demanded the release of the Ethics Committee’s findings this Tuesday.

“My colleagues and I are pushing for the House Ethics Committee to release its report on Matt Gaetz immediately,” Carbajal told the Independent. “Transparency is key to holding our elected officials accountable. The American people deserve to know the truth about who could potentially be our next Attorney General.”

Led by Rep. Sean Casten of Illinois, 97 congressmembers signed a letter to Chair Michael Guest (R-MS) and Ranking Member Susan Wild (D-PA) that stated: “We are writing today to request that you immediately release the Ethics Committee’s report into allegations of serious misconduct by former Congressman Matt Gaetz. Given President-Elect Trump’s nomination of Representative Gaetz to serve as Attorney General, your committee’s findings remain relevant despite Representative Gaetz’s recent resignation from Congress.”

Members of a president’s Cabinet are usually confirmed by the Senate, which is divided on the subject. According to Associated Press, Senator James Lankford (R-OK) said, “There’s nothing about that that would smell right, to say, ‘Hey, there’s a report but none of us want to see it.’” Incoming Senate majority leader John Thune (R-SD) said he would defer to House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is strongly opposed to the Ethics Committee releasing its report.

Gaetz has been under investigation since April 2021, the House Democrat letter indicates, over allegations that he “engaged in sexual misconduct and/or 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.” As the Ethics Committee continued its investigation in June 2024, it added new allegations of “dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.”

The letter cites previous occasions when an ethics investigation continued after a member “resigned in a scandal” — Rep. Eric Massa for inappropriate sexual behavior and Senator John Ensign for an affair — and quotes Senator John Cornyn on the Gaetz investigation: “I think that there should not be any limitations on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation including whatever the House Ethics Committee has generated.”

The letter notes that a president’s cabinet members hold “among the most important positions in the country” and that the Senate has the constitutional duty to provide advice and consent on nominees. However, Trump may appoint a cabinet chosen for their loyalty over their qualifications in what is known as a “recess appointment” when the Senate retires for the holidays. The Senate calendars currently show a target adjournment of December 20-January 7.