Former Representative Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida, filed for a restraining order on Monday against the House Ethics Committee to prevent the anticipated release of a final report detailing its investigation into him.
In the filing, Gaetz accuses the committee of making an “unconstitutional” move to exert control over a private citizen through the potential publication of an investigative report that contains defamatory claims, which he argues contravenes the committee’s own regulations.
Gaetz’s legal team stated in the complaint, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, that the committee’s plan to issue a report about him constitutes an unprecedented overextension of authority that jeopardizes essential constitutional rights and established procedural safeguards, particularly since the committee has acknowledged it “lacks jurisdiction over former members.”
The complaint also contends that the release of the report would cause irreversible damage to Gaetz’s reputation, asserting that the potential publication of allegations regarding sexual conduct and other purported moral misconduct represents harm that cannot be adequately addressed through monetary compensation.
