House speaker tries to shield Matt Gaetz—and his reason is absurd

House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Friday the House Ethics Committee report detailing sexual misconduct allegations against now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz shouldn't be released, claiming it would set a bad precedent for the House.

The committee was preparing to vote to release a harsh report this week detailing allegations that Gaetz had drug-fueled sex parties with minors and showed images of his sexual exploits to fellow members on the House floor. But after Donald Trump shockingly nominated him to be attorney general, Gaetz abruptly resigned his seat in Congress on Wednesday night—likely an effort to stop the report from being made public ahead of his confirmation hearing. (The committee loses jurisdiction over members once they are no longer in office.)

“I'm going to strongly request that the Ethics Committee not issue the report, because that is not the way we do things in the House,” Johnson said, according to Politico. “And I think that would be a terrible precedent to set.”