The House Ethics Committee is expected to release a report

On Monday, Gaetz filed a lawsuit to block the report’s release, saying it contained “untrue and defamatory information” that would “significantly harm his reputation and reputation in the community.” Gaetz’s complaint argues that since he left Congress, he is no longer subject to the committee’s jurisdiction.

“The Committee’s position that it may nevertheless publish potentially defamatory findings about a private citizen over whom it claims no jurisdiction represents an unprecedented expansion of Congress’s power that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections,” Gaetz’s lawyers wrote in their request for a temporary restriction order.

The often secretive, non-partisan committee has been investigating allegations against Gaetz since 2021. But his work became more urgent last month when President-elect Donald Trump selected Gaetz as his nominee for attorney general. Gaetz resigned from Congress on the same day, thereby removing himself from the jurisdiction of the Ethics Committee.

But Democrats had pushed for the report to be released even after Gaetz was no longer a member and withdrew as Trump’s nominee to lead the Justice Department. A House vote this month to force the report’s release failed; all but one Republican voted against it.

___ Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.