Gaetz's legal team slams 'unprecedented' release of ethics report, drops bid to block it

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) dropped his eleventh-hour lawsuit seeking to block the release of his House Ethics Committee report since the committee distributed it publicly.

The report, released Monday, found “substantial evidence” that Gaetz paid a 17-year-old high school student for sex when he was 35, used illicit drugs like cocaine and ecstasy and obstructed Congress’s investigation into his conduct.

Gaetz filed a federal lawsuit earlier in the day attempting to block the report’s release, insisting the committee had no jurisdiction over him since the Florida Republican resigned from Congress.

“Due to the Defendant’s unprecedented and procedurally defective decision to publicize the Report that was the subject of Plaintiff’s Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order without notice to Plaintiff and while Defendants’ knew or reasonably should have known of this pending action, Plaintiff has now suffered irreversible and irreparable harm,” Gaetz attorney Jonathan Gross wrote in court filings after the committee made its report public.

“As such, Plaintiff concurs that the instant action has been mooted and the Court now lacks subject matter jurisdiction to order the previously requested relief,” Gross continued.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, an appointee of former President Obama assigned to oversee the dispute, then quickly dismissed the case.

“Consistent with Plaintiff's Response to Order to Show Cause, this matter is hereby dismissed as moot. The Clerk of Court shall close this matter,” Mehta wrote in a brief order.

The highly anticipated report capped the House Ethics Committee’s years-long, on-and-off investigation into the former Florida congressman.

Gaetz has repeatedly denied having sexual contact with a minor and other wrongdoing. Last week, in anticipation of the report’s release, Gaetz said he had engaged in “embarrassing, though not criminal” past behavior.

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