Matt Gaetz files unsuccessful last-ditch lawsuit to stop release of House Ethics report

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz filed a lawsuit Monday asking a federal judge to block the official release of a long-awaited House Ethics Committee report about his potential misconduct while in office.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz filed a lawsuit Monday asking a federal judge to block the official release of a long-awaited House Ethics Committee report about his potential misconduct while in office. Gaetz filed the lawsuit around the same time that CNN and other outlets reported on a draft of the report’s findings about his alleged sexual misconduct and drug use. Within hours of the lawsuit being filed, the committee officially released the report on its website, making his lawsuit essentially moot. In the lawsuit, which was filed in Washington, DC, against the Republican-led committee and its chairman, Gaetz claimed releasing the report would cause “immediate, severe and irreversible” damage to his reputation, in part because “media coverage would be immediate and widespread.” He also claimed he wasn’t notified of the panel’s plans to release the report, nor was he provided copies of the materials. “As such, Plaintiff has been afforded no opportunity to respond to any report or investigative conclusions,” the lawsuit says. Gaetz lawyers said he has “frequently and vehemently declared his innocence regarding the alleged misconduct” and had asked the committee to “cease their investigation and provide him appropriate due process rights.” He said the Republican-run panel has been “unresponsive” to those demands. The federal judge assigned to the case, Amit Mehta, ordered Gaetz to explain by 5 p.m. ET why the case shouldn’t be dismissed because it “appears to be moot” in light of the committee officially releasing the report.